Rose Potter and the Game of Secrets
by Missy Megs
Summary: In which Harry was born Rose Lily Potter. Rose has a similar background to her male counterpart, but she experiences a traumatic incident in her second year that completely changes her path. New allies are created, and she learns the meaning of resilience. Follows a semi- canon plotline. Fem/Girl!Harry. Very slow burn RoseXSirius; However, The main relationship is mentor Snape.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone. There are going to be a lot of disclaimers and warnings for this story. This story contains non-graphic, and semi-graphic references to and scenes of sexual assault. I will not be including any erotic scenes of sexual violence, but there may be non-graphic sex scenes later on that are consensual. There are relationships in this story that are going to be portrayed by the main character as healthy, but they are not healthy. This story might be hard to read for someone who has experienced sexual abuse, violence, or rape.**

 **This story is a Girl Harry story following the general canon storyline of killing Voldemort for a while (which I do not own at all); however, there will be several major changes. There in** **an eventual Girl! Harry/ Sirius pairing, which I am going to portray as a good thing; however, I am also very aware is not and should not be taken as an example of a healthy relationship due to the large age gap. This will be extremely gradual and will not be the centre of the story. These are your warnings, and I hope you enjoy the story. I am going for novel length, updating at least once a week. – Thank you, Meg.**

Rosie Potter was late. She was late for her very first detention with Professor Lockhart, and she was going to be in so much trouble. Running along the corridor towards her new defense professor's office, she prayed that he hadn't been watching the clock. Herself, Hermione, and Ron had been helping Hagrid with some gardening after class and had lost track of time. She had just been so happy that the summer was over and that school was back in session, she'd forgot that she had been assigned detention on her second evening.

Still, It was hard for Rose to understand why she was in detention. They'd had no other choice but to fly the car. She'd had to get to Hogwarts somehow. Staying with the Dursleys any longer was just not an option. When she arrived at the door, the professor was waiting for her exactly as she had feared. However, instead of anger or impatience, he was smiling.

His smile had been strange today in class, but right now Rosie was just happy that he didn't seem cross. She was already in enough trouble with Professor McGonagall as it was. Even though Rose was headed for a long boring hour of detention, she just couldn't shake the feeling that this year would be the best year yet.

"Hello Miss Potter" The professor greeted her enthusiastically.

"Hi Sir." Rosie replied.

I'm so pleased that we`ll be spending so much time together this year." He began. "I was hoping to become a sort of mentor to you Potter."

"Yeah, great, thanks Professor. I appreciate it." Rosie tried to hide her smirk, hoping that he wouldn't catch the giggle that escaped her lips.

The detention was just as she had expected. Lockhart had her reading and replying to his fan mail. While she was working, he told her stories of his adventures, which were already detailed at length in his novels. The professor also, not entirely provoked, offered up strange personal facts about himself.

Rose learned that he loved lavender, seafood, and that he had fought a werewolf with is own two hands to save a village. She wasn't really sure if she believed him or not, because he didn't really look like the fighting type, but the stories made the time go by faster. Reaching the hour mark, she stood up hastily and turned around to say goodnight to Professor Lockhart.

An eerie calm passed over her, and Rosie began to walk towards the Gryffindor dorms. She went straight up the stairs, through the door, and bypassed Seamus on the way, ignoring his goodnight call. Rosie didn't stop walking until she was safely in her dorm. As she began to undress for bed, she noticed something strange.

Feeling around at the base of her neck where her tie usually sat, she realized that it was missing. Rose was sure that she had it on while gardening because she remembered loosening it as they worked. Chalking it up to the excitement of the second day, she slipped into her pyjamas and got into bed. Rosie could tell that it was still early, but she felt like she had to go to bed. It never passed through her mind to question it. Maybe she should have.

When Rosie awoke the next morning, it was to Hermione shaking her.

"Rose Potter, we are going to be late!" The girl shrieked.

Her friend's voice was shrill as she muddled around the room organizing her things. Rosie felt a jolt of panic before she shot out of bed, threw her long hair into a ponytail and put on her uniform. She didn't have time to search for her tie before herself and Hermione were jostling down the stairs towards the great hall.

"Rosie, where were you last night? I looked for you after detention and I couldn't find you! We were playing cards in the library for hours! I thought you were coming!" Her friend relayed.

Rosie felt surprise wash over her as she realized that she had been supposed to meet her friends in the library after detention last night. She wasn't sure what had happened.

"I'm sorry. I guess was tired from all the writing. I think I just went to bed." She mumbled sheepishly. "I'll get the next game promise!"

That morning, Rosie's first class was potions with Snape. She felt almost too confident as she strolled into the class with Ron and Hermione by her side and took her usual seat at the back. Rose wasn't scared of Snape anymore, not really anyways. She knew he didn't like her, but if there was one thing that she was good at, it was ignoring bullies. Snape did his usual attendance ritual, lingering on her name, but he moved on quickly to the rest of the class.

Rosie spent most of the lecture lost in space, her mind in the sky as she daydreamed about the first quidditch practice that would be held over the weekend and passed doodles with Ron. When class ended and before Rosie could make her escape, Snape turned towards her with a sneer.

"Miss Potter, this is your second day of classes and already you feel it appropriate to violate the dress code? Where is your tie?"

"I don't know sir" She responded, twitching uncomfortably.

"Don't tell me you misplaced it making your… _grand entrance_ this year." He drawled.

Rosie wasn't really sure how to respond, she didn't want to start a fight with Snape in her first potions class of the year. She just looked up at him and shrugged.

"I'll try to find it sir." Rosie tried calmly. He appraised her.

"See that you do." The potions master responded back, his eyes gleaning in the dim light of the dungeon.

The rest of her classes were as usual. Nobody else noticed that her tie was missing, and Professor Flitwick taught them a charm to disguise your voice. Ron had been acting like a buffoon using the new charm at lunch. He left both herself and Hermione crying with laughter. Despite her impending detention with Lockhart that night, Rosie felt in good spirits.

She would go to Hagrid's for tea the next day and help him with gardening again so that she could retrieve her tie and she only had three more months of her two-night a week detention to go. Before she set off for the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Rose stopped to give Ron her DADA notes from last year so that he could pass them along to his sister Ginny.

Ginny was a first year and very eager to please. She`d said that she would meet Ginny after detention in the library, and headed up the stairs where Lockhart's office was located. When Rosie entered the office this time, the lights were dimmer and she wondered how they would be able to see the papers.

Professor Lockhart was standing at the far corner of the room and he motioned for Rosie to take a seat. He was smiling in the same way that he had yesterday and he seemed pleased to see her.

"Hello Potter, so lovely to see you today." The man greeted her.

"Hi Professor, nice to see you too." She replied.

"My dear, I think yesterday's detention was punishment enough, what do you say we just sit here and chat for an hour today?"

The way that Professor Lockhart said the word 'chat' made Rosie a little confused, or maybe uneasy. She wasn't sure why her punishment was finished already, but she would take listening to stories over reading fan mail any day. He proceeded to talk for an hour about one of his books, but Rosie couldn't quite remember which book, or what it had been about. Before she knew it, she was back in her dorm.

Rose couldn't remember exactly how she had gotten back to her dorm. Why couldn't she remember?

Rosie stared off in a daze for a number of minutes, she wasn't sure how many, and then realized with a start that she had promised to meet Ginny. She was already five minutes late and she took off running towards the library.

Rose knew how important it was for Ginny to succeed at Hogwarts, she really had wanted to help the girl. When she arrived, Ginny was already there, sitting nervously in an oversized stuffed chair with her hand on her lap. She had Rosie's notes splayed out in front of her, and her soft eyes perked up as soon as Rosie walked in through the entryway.

"Hi Rose!" Ginny beamed.

"Hi Ginny, how's the studying going?" She asked, eying the notes.

"Um, well, I think it's good! But maybe you can look it over for me?" The girl replied.

"Yeah no problem…" Rosie was just about to ask Ginny where she had left off in the reading when the girl shot her a strange glance.

"Is everything alright Ginny?" Rosie asked, wondering if maybe she didn't understand something.

"Yeah, sorry, just… did you know that your sweater is on backwards Rose?" Ginny whispered quietly, embarrassed that she was even mentioning it.

Rosie`s face flushed. What did Ginny mean her sweater was on backwards? Sure enough, she looked down and noted that the high back of the sweater was up by her throat while the slight V-neck dipped down her back.

Rosie felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. She couldn't believe she just spent an hour in detention with her shirt on backwards in front of her professor. He must think that she was and idiot. Red faced, Rosie pulled the sweater over her head and switched it around, thanking Ginny and then turning back to the notes.

The weekend came slowly but when it did come, it proved to be one of the best she had ever spent at Hogwarts. She and Ron spent Saturday taking turns on her nimbus while Hermione sat below them studying.

They had brought their lunches out to the lake and sat underneath a tree. Everyone was happy. Rosie thought that maybe this year would be a nice break from the chaos of the previous one, and she was so excited to spend it with her first friends in the most magical place on earth.

Halloween came quickly as it always did at Hogwarts. The leaves changed colors, and the air grew chilly. The high hopes from earlier on in the term were beginning to lesson and Rosie was starting to feel the strain of the school year. There was something different about this year for her.

She wasn't sure if the classes were more difficult or the extra detentions were getting to her but she had been feeling so tired. Most days, she felt like she was a walking zombie. Rose was nervous that the whole school year would continue this way. Ron and Hermione were acting differently around her. Rosie knew that she had been kind of avoiding them for a while, but it was only because she was so exhausted.

She took every moment that she could to take a nap, or to curl up somewhere and rest. Lately, she had been going to bed earlier, especially on the nights of her detentions with Lockhart. He had started keeping her late, and she usually just went straight from his office to bed once the detention has finished. The detentions were...strange. They hardly ever did any work anymore.

Rosie would just sit there and listen to the Professor talk. It felt just like another one of her lessons. The strangest thing though, was that it only felt like she had been there for a few minutes every evening and then she would get up and go straight to her dorm. Rose was unusually careless before and after detention.

She would forget to tuck her shirt into her skirt or put her skirt on sideways. Sometimes, she would leave with her hair dishevelled and she didn't understand how it had gotten that way. Once she even removed her tights after detention and realized that she had forgotten to put on underwear that day. Rosie felt like she was losing it.

The forgetfulness wasn't the only product of Rosie's exhaustion. She was also hearing voices. She hadn't admitted that part to anyone yet. Really, Rose had only heard one voice, and it was just two times. However, the voice that she was hearing was disturbing. It sounded violent. It was slimy and soft and it made her shiver as though it were right next to her or over her shoulder.

Rosie wasn't the only one that had fallen behind in the excitement of the new year. Ginny, Ron's little sister, had been beating Rosie to her hide out spots lately. She saw that girl sleeping more often than awake and she was getting concerned that maybe something was wrong with her. She had been meaning to talk to Ron about it. Boys never notice anything, so she wanted to make sure he knew.

Rosie was just leaving her detention with Lockhart and was on her way to the great hall for the Halloween feast when she heard a soft whisper coming in through the walls. She felt the hairs on her arms flutter and goose pimples popped up all over her arms. She could hear that same voice whispering,

"Rip… tear… kill…" and it frightened her, so she began to run away.

Rosie sprinted up as many flights of stairs as she could and turned a corner. There, hung from the ceiling and frozen solid, was Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris. She was dead and right above her body, written in blood, were the words,

"THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAD BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE."

She was just about to scream, when to her right, Professors Snape, McGonagall, and Argus Filch himself came rushing around the corner and stopped, frozen in time as they observed the scene before them.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus Snape stood face to face with the Potter girl alongside Minerva as Filch's body wracked with sobs from behind. Severus hated the guttural noises of grief. The Potter girl was standing starstruck staring at the dead cat with an expression that told Severus that she had no idea what had just happened.

Her eyes were empty. He could not get inside her head. There was something off about Potter. On a regular day, she was so disgustingly emotive. He would have expected her to be crying and yelling alongside the squib. The girl seemed dazed. Her hair was an absolute wreck, and she appeared as though she had dressed herself hastily and without care.

Slowly, other students began to trickle into the hallway causing a large crowd to form. The Potter girl looked lost, as though she had no idea where to go or with whom to go. Minerva began to huddle the children back towards their dormitories as Snape reached over and grabbed onto the girl's shoulder.

She flinched and pulled away. Typical Potter.

He reached again and she turned with him as he pulled her toward the hallway adjacent to where the cat had been found. As they turned the corner into the dimly lit hall, Albus came fluttering around the corner opposing them. He was dressed in seriousness and his face was somber. He greeted the girl, and turned to Severus, giving him a meaningful look.

"Hello Rose dear, might you come with Professor Snape and I for a chat in my office?" He questioned soothingly.

Potter looked at her feet, but nodded indistinctly. She appeared dead on her feet.

"Albus, we encountered Miss Potter alone at the site of what seems to be a cruel prank. Might I remind you of someone who used to enjoy playing cruel pranks that Miss Potter is very well acquainted with?" Severus sneered, gripping the girl's shoulder tighter.

Potter whipped her head around to face him, confusion etched in her expression.

"Severus." He replied sternly.

They moved quickly, Severus almost dragging the child behind him. When they reached Albus' office, the girl took a seat opposite the Headmaster and Severus sat beside her.

"Can you tell me what happened my dear girl?" Albus asked calmly.

"I don't know sir…" She replied. "I was on my way back to my dorm after detention, and I well... I got distracted. I turned a corner and found Mrs. Norris like that…"

"Clearly… all an accident. That sounds familiar. Albus this girl is untrustworthy, it is in her blood. She is obviously lying." Severus chimed in.

"No, I swear, I didn't do it! Please, I just was wandering around and found her that way!" The girl was starting to panic now.

"Rose, can you tell me how you ended up in that particular wing of the school in that moment? Why did you wander up there?" Albus asked.

"I heard a voice… and I got scared."

"What do you mean you heard a voice Potter?" He spat, "Did you see who did this?"

"No Professor Snape, I mean I heard a voice, in the walls, or in my head, I don't know." She cried.

"Severus calm down please. You are scaring the poor girl. Now, Rose what do you mean you heard a voice in your head? What kind of voice?"

Severus glared.

"An angry voice… it was saying something about ripping, or killing. I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore, I don't know." Albus held his face pensive but calming. He was obviously buying into the girl's farce.

"I would like to see some punishment for this Albus. I say detention twice a week with me for six weeks." Severus insisted.

Albus looked concerned. "Severus, Rose will not be receiving detention with you. She is already serving in detention twice a week with Professor Lockhart. If you are so adamant, we will just extend that detention sentence with him for another six weeks." Albus countered.

Potter's expression was blank. She seemed to have fallen asleep in her seat. Albus had a twinkle in his eyes as if he were doing the girl a service. Severus knew that meant Lockhart's detentions must be soft or even entertaining for the students.

"Fine." Replied Severus.

"Please escort the girl to her common room Severus it is late. Do take care Rose. Be careful where you wander. Pay no mind to what happened tonight and rest. It looks like you might use it" Albus ordered.

As they moved to leave, Potter reached up to tap the gargoyle and the sleeve of her robes came up several inches. Her bare upper arm revealed a bruise. The bruise was oddly… hand shaped.

It had five fingers, and it was black, obviously fresh. A pang of discomfort shot through Severus' stomach. He wondered who had given her that. He made a silent promise to look out for anything suspicious.

It was after all his duty to protect the wretched child. After seeing her off, Severus stalked back to his chambers to continue with the draught he had been concocting earlier paying no mind to the Chamber of Secrets or any other ridiculous rumors.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose awoke the next morning with the overwhelming feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what concerned her more, the idea that the rumored chamber of secrets had been opened, or the idea that she would have to spend six extra weeks listening to Lockhart boast his achievements to her.

She still had what felt like ages left on her original detention sentence. She was also concerned because she had woken up with a large bruise on her arm and she could not for the life of her remember where she had gotten it.

It was distinctly hand shaped, and that notion only increased her nerves. Rosie thought maybe that it was from Snape. She remembered that he had grabbed her before they had run into to Dumbledore the previous night, but she had sworn that he had grabbed her by the shoulder… not by the arm. There was something about Rose these days.

It was like she always had a barrel of discomfort rolling around in her stomach. Something had been making her feel funny. She was never this tired, and she felt so anxious all the time. She felt worse than she had all summer at the Dursleys.

Rosie could hear Hermione start to stir, and she decided to get out of bed as well. She was going to need extra time to make herself look presentable today. She was a mess.

"Hey, Rosie are you awake?" she heard Hermione whisper from the other bed.

"Yeah I'm up."

"Did you really find that cat yesterday? What's going on? Is something the matter?"

"I did find it yeah. I thought I heard a voice, I followed it, and it led me to Mrs. Norris."

"You heard a mysterious voice? Rosie I would keep that to yourself if I were you. Are you sure you're okay? You have been acting so weird lately."

"Yeah, I'm fine don't worry, I'm just not like you, it takes me longer to understand the classes. I've been spending so much time trying to get my grades up." Rosie lied.

"Alright, ok, well you can always ask me if you need extra help, you know that, right?"

"Thanks Hermione. What do you think is going on with this Chamber of Secrets thing? Do you think it was a prank?"

"Well what else could it be Rosie, of course it was a prank, a cruel one, but it is lucky that Mrs. Norris isn't dead."

"Wait, she isn't? What happened to her?"

"She was prettified. It is like being dead, but she can be brought back with the right potions. I forgot, you weren't there when McGonagall was explaining it. Where did you get off to so fast?"

"I was in Dumbledore's office. Snape made him assign me more detentions for finding Mrs. Norris. I think he thinks I did that to her."

"No way?! He can't! That's why you're so tired, you have no time for school work with all that detention!"

"I know, I was so tired last night. Snape had to walk me back to the common room."

The two girls got ready for breakfast. Hermione braided Rosie's thin hair into a long French braid down her back. They borrowed some make up from Lavender to cover the dark bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep. At breakfast that morning, everyone was talking about the Chamber of Secrets.

Lockhart announced the commencement of a dueling club that he would be running alongside Snape, and Ron went on about some of the defense spells he thought they ought to know. Rosie noticed out of the corner of her eye that Ginny had fallen asleep at the breakfast table. She felt her concern for the girl spread as she realized that like herself, the year must be taking a toll on her friend's little sister.

In potions that morning, Snape paid unusual attention to her. He came over to look at her assignment four times, and every time he did, he lingered over her shoulder. It was as if he were watching her for signs of guilt. When the class ended, he stood by the door and as she left her handed her a small bottle of some sort of blue liquid.

He nodded at her and said, "For your bruise Potter."

She felt a sudden shock of nerves, and then relief as she realized it must have been him that had bruised her arm. He was trying to cover his tracks in case she told someone that he had grabbed her. Rosie quickly pocketed the bottle, and moved to catch up with her friends up ahead.

As she ran towards them, she could see Draco Malfoy off in the corner laughing with his friends. They were pointing at her and making crude cat gestures. Rose just felt tired. She went through the rest of her classes that day with altered focus.

She had another detention with Lockhart that night and he had mentioned something about answering more fan mail. At least the detentions went by fast.

Rosie felt a bit left out because Ron and Hermione were going to eat dinner together and then they were going to go to the library to research the Chamber of Secrets. She had wanted to go, but she had her detention to attend.

When Rosie arrived at Lockhart's office, she remembered sitting down, the professor greeting her, and then him reading to her from his fan letters for an entire hour. The next thing she knew, Rosie was in her dorm again. She did a quick 'tempus' charm to find the time and realized that it was two thirty in the morning.

She looked around and noticed her sleeping friends in the bunks beside her. Something felt strange. Her body was shaky and she had something wet between her legs. Rosie got up and went into the lavatory.

She pulled her pajama pants down and was shocked by what she saw. She had a strange bloody liquid running down her thighs. It was mixed with something so that the blood was tinged orangey-brown and not red. Rose also felt a sharp and consistent pain in her private area.

There was quite a lot of bloody gunk.

She felt heat rush to her cheeks as she realized that this must be her first period. Aunt Petunia had always complained about her periods to Rosie. She'd said that when you become a woman, blood comes out of your private area and you get painful cramps. Her aunt would spend days in bed citing cramps as the excuse for her prolonged rest.

The pain in her private must be cramps like Aunt Petunia had described. She tried to remember what her aunt did to stop the blood, but Rose didn't see anything in the bathroom like what Petunia used in the house.

Rosie resigned herself to figuring it out in the morning and she went to fetch another set of pajamas. She would go ask Professor McGonagall before breakfast the next day. Surely, the older witch could answer Rosie's period questions better than Hermione or the other girls could.

In the meantime, she got into the shower and rinsed herself off. She was careful not to press to hard on her private area as it was very tender, and then she changed into her new pajamas. Wadding up toilet paper in her underwear, Rose went back to sleep.

Rosie awoke early in the morning so that she would be up before her roommates. She'd snuck quietly into the bathroom and pulled down her pants. She became immediately confused when she realized that there was no more blood on the wadded-up toilet paper. Her private still hurt, but not as badly as it had the night before and there was no sign of her period.

She had thought that they lasted a few days at least. Sometimes Aunt Petunia would rest for a whole week, but she was glad at least that she didn't have to go and ask Professor McGonagall about it that morning. She was sure that she could find some information on her own before next month's period came.

The next few days passed. She had no more detentions that week, and the weekend came quickly. Rose had practice for the Gryffindor quidditch team on both Saturday and Sunday, and the only reminder that she had about her little period ordeal was the slight pain she felt as she sat perched on the broomstick for two days in a row.

Monday was supposed to be the first lesson of Lockhart's dueling club. She was excited. The weekend had felt rejuvenating for Rosie. Her dark circles had lessoned, Snape's potion had helped her fade the bruise into almost nothing, and she had gotten Hermione's help with homework and was almost caught up.

She had even played a few games of chess with Ron on Sunday evening. Rose caught herself laughing like she hadn't laughed since that first weekend by the lake.

When Monday morning rolled around, all that anyone could talk about was the dueling club and as everyone congregated in the defense practice room, Rosie started to feel the excitement as well.

Lockhart entered the room with a cocky strut followed by Snape in his usual angry stride. In contrast to Lockhart's ear to ear grin, Snape was scowling. He appeared as though he did not was to be there.

When he caught Rosie's eye he only scowled further. Lockhart stepped forward and introduced the first duel, which would be between himself and Snape.

The two men stood opposite each other on the long mat both poised for action. They had an observing prefect count down from three. Before he had reached zero, Snape shouted, and Lockhart went flying backwards into the wall.

The students broke out into sporadic laughter, and Rosie felt badly about it, but she cracked a smile as well. There was something about Lockhart's confidence that was almost annoying. Chagrined, the defense professor picked himself up off of the floor and opened his mouth the speak.

"Very good Severus, you have just demonstrated exactly how to disarm an opponent. I was expecting you to do that. I think now we should have two students come up an demonstrate" He muttered, rubbing his head.

"Very well." Replied Snape. "I choose Mr. Malfoy." Malfoy sauntered up to stand in front of Snape and the professor began to whisper in his ear.

"Excellent choice my dear fellow. I am going to have Miss. Potter please come up and join me." Lockhart bellowed.

There was something about Lockhart's voice connected with her name that sent chills up her spine. She shrugged the feeling off and moved as quickly as she could to the other end of the mat. When she got up there, Lockhart wrapped his hands around her upper arms and bent down to whisper in her ear from behind.

Rosie wasn't sure why, but as soon as she felt his hands wrap around her arms, she stopped breathing. Her heart caught in her throat and she suddenly could not hear a word that he was saying. Before she realized what had happened, the same prefect began to count down from three.

Rose wasn't ready and she knew it. Before she could react, Malfoy shouted, pointing his wand at the ground, and a large snake spurted from his wand onto the mat in front of her.

Rosie was not scared of snakes. She actually kind of liked them; however, this snake was moving towards her at an alarmingly fast pace. A student from the crowd screeched.

She turned her head in time to see that it was Daphne Greengrass from Slytherin. The snake reacted to her loud screech by changing course and heading towards the other girl. Rosie's first instinct was to call out to the snake.

"Wait!" She screamed. The snake stopped. "Don't hurt her, please! Come over here instead." She shouted toward the snake loud enough for the gathering to hear.

The snake began to move towards her again, this time slower. It seemed to have relaxed. Silence fell over the room, only to be interrupted by Professor Snape's voice, and then a jet of light from his thin, black wand. The snake was vanished in an instant and the entire group of students and teachers had their eyes fixed on Rosie.


	4. Chapter 4

Rosie felt frozen in time as she stood in front of the dueling club, all eyes on her. Silence overtook the room. She was not sure what she had just done, but she knew that whatever it was had not been normal. Rose felt the heat rush to her face, and she began to focus on her own breathing.

It felt as though the whole room could hear her heart beat.

Out of nowhere, a scream broke the silence, "Rose Potter tried to kill me!" Cried Daphne Greengrass from the right of the long mat.

Suddenly, the silence erupted into sound from all directions. Rosie still hadn't moved from where she stood. Her stupor turned to shock when she saw Snape rushing toward her. He did as he had the night that she found Mrs. Norris and grabbed her by the shoulder.

This time in front of everyone. He steered her towards the part of the mat where her friends stood, and almost pushed her into them. She felt a momentary, but warm sense of gratitude toward her most despised professor as Hermione and Ron rushed her out the door.

"Rose Potter, you did not tell us you were a Parselmouth!" Shouted Ron.

"A what?" Rosie replied, confused.

"You can speak to snakes!" Hermione reverberated.

"What do you mean? I was speaking the same. I was speaking English."

"No Rosie you were speaking in tongues! You said something to the snake and controlled it with your voice!" Ron responded, still shouting.

Rosie was so confused. "Is it a bad thing to be a Parselmouth?" She asked in a whisper.

"Well… kind of Rose! The last Parselmouth on magical record was _You Know Who_!"

"Wait… Voldemort could talk to snakes?" Rosie repeated, astonished.

"Yes Rosie, speaking to snakes is like the most Slytherin ability in the entire world!" Hermione added.

Rosie realized then what she had done. She had spoken to a snake in front of an entire room of her peers who already thought that she had petrified a cat. She ditched Ron and Hermione in the great hall and went upstairs to her dorm room, laid down on the bed and fell asleep.

Rose slept well that night.

The next few days passed uneventfully.

Nothing strange happened. The students continued their torment. They called her names and mocked her, but she was trying very hard to focus on her classes. She felt behind because she had been too tired to focus lately.

On Wednesday, Rosie headed toward her detention with a sense of accomplishment. Rosie had spent the day receiving extra tutoring from McGonagall in transfigurations in between her classes and she had been able to transform almost everything that the professor had set for her to do.

She arrived early for detention and sat down in the familiar office. Lockhart had not arrived yet. Laying back on the couch in the office and staring up at the ceiling, something caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed something familiar, something red on top of the coat hanger in the left corner of the office. It was Rosie's tie.

That was strange. She felt a tugging in the back of her mind, almost like she was trying to remember something that she had forgotten. When had she taken her tie off in Lockhart's office? Just then, the door swung open, and her professor entered, as jovial as ever.

"My dear girl, why didn't you tell me you were a Parselmouth?" He asked.

"I didn't know professor Lockhart!"

"Oh, please my dear call me Gilderoy. We've spent so much time together I think it's appropriate."

Rosie did not feel like that was appropriate.

She felt that her other professors would not be happy to know that she was calling Lockhart, Gilderoy.

When Rosie left the office that night, she was upset. She could not figure out why Lockhart had decided to read and answer the exact same fan mail that they had answered in her last detention.

Rose even swore that they talked about the same things, and that he had told her the same stories during Thursday's detention. She was awoken again around midnight that night with the same wetness between her legs as she had last week.

When she got out of bed, she felt as though she was having an accident. More liquid gushed out of her and down her legs. Rosie rushed to the bathroom and pulled down her pajama pants to reveal not blood, but a white, sticky substance all over her legs and her private parts.

She felt the same pain as she had on Thursday and she felt a hollowness in her stomach. Rose's body was shaky and nauseous. She was pretty sure that your period had to be blood, not white sticky stuff. She'd thought briefly that maybe she had wet the bed. However, her bed wasn't wet, just her body.

Rosie began to worry that maybe there was something wrong in her private parts. Maybe she had an infection of something. She managed to change and crawl back into bed, but she didn't sleep. Something was very wrong.

The next morning in potion's class, Rosie fell asleep. She fell into such a deep and dreamless sleep that when Snape towered over her and brought her back to the world, she hadn't even realized that she had left it.

"Potter, is this lesson so basic for you that you feel the need to sleep through it?" He barked.

She had never seen him so enraged with her. Rosie shrunk away. She could barely focus on her surroundings.

"I'm sorry sir." She said in a daze.

"That is detention with me tonight Potter."

"But... professor, I have detention with Professor Lockhart at seven o'clock tonight."

"Then you will come to my office at eight Potter. One would think that two detentions in one evening would serve as a sufficient preventative measure." He replied mockingly.

Rosie didn't have the strength to argue. She just nodded and tried to focus on the board for the rest of the lesson.

When six o'clock rolled around, she returned to Lockhart's office for detention and found him waiting for her there. She felt as though she had just entered his office, and then she was leaving again one hour later.

Rose couldn't remember what they had done today. Her body felt so weak. As she started towards the dungeons, she felt the now familiar sensation of something wet running down her legs.

This could not be happening. She could not be peeing herself, or doing whatever this was on her way to detention with Snape. It hurt to walk and she had to take a break on the stairs.

When Rosie arrived in the dungeons, Snape motioned for her to enter and did not say a word. She sat down at the desk where he had the line "I will get more sleep at night" written down, accompanied by a long strip of parchment. She realized that she must be writing lines.

She was barely able to get more than a sentence out before she fell asleep once again.

Severus saw Potter's head hit the desk nearly the moment that she sat down. He was not stupid, he knew that something must be wrong with child. Her personality had shifted gradually over the past few months.

She had become a shell of herself, isolating herself from her friends, and she had been dropping in academic performance. Quietly and careful not to wake her, Severus moved over the where the child lay sleeping. He looked for signs of illness. He touched her neck to feel her pulse, and he moved her hair over only to reveal a large bruise like welt on her neck. It looked fresh.

It was then that he realized… Maybe Potter had started up with an older boy at Hogwarts. That would explain the sleepless nights, the bruises on her arms, the isolation from her friends, and it would certainly explain the ridiculous hickey that she was sporting at that moment in his detention.

Potter was just twelve years old, one of the older boys must have taken a liking to her, and she must have fallen for it without knowing any better. With a sigh, Severus vowed that he would pass his theory on to Minerva in the coming week, but for now he continued to grade his papers and monitor the Potter girl's sleep.

When Rosie awoke, she was alone in the potion's classroom. Panicked, and confused, she stumbled her way out of the dungeons and back to the Gryffindor common room where she continued her slumber.


	5. Chapter 5

Rosie was very concerned. She was fairly sure that she was dying. She could barely function in her classes. She had not eaten since dinner the previous night, and she had not spoken to her friends more than in passing for days.

Rose was supposed to have another detention with Professor Lockhart that evening, but she did not think that she would have the strength to go. She wracked her brain for solutions. Rosie wanted to find help, but she was too nervous to go to any professor that she liked or that liked her.

Everyday, she felt increasingly dirty and disgusting. She was having frequent incidents like the previous ones, with pain and fluid leaking from her private parts. She was afraid that if she told someone that she trusted, then they would think less of her.

The last thing that she wanted was for everyone to think that she was disgusting, they already thought she was the heir of Slytherin. There had also been more incidents of bruises that Rosie had found all over her body.

There had been one on her neck, her arms again, her stomach, and her leg. Rosie could not remember where any of the bruises had come from. She felt as though her memory was full of holes lately.

Not only was she forgetting her detentions, but she was beginning to forget her daily activities as well.

For these, and many other reasons, Rose Potter found herself standing outside the door to her most hated professor's office trying desperately to work up the courage to go inside.

She counted down from three several times, but each time she was too afraid to knock. The last time, she'd reached one and had just enough gumption to create the faintest echo of skin against wood.

That was all it took for Snape to hear. Rosie heard him shift at his desk, and call out from behind the door.

"Enter."

She was shaking and her breath was shallow. She had not planned on what to say. It had taken all of her courage just to reach out to somebody. Rose had never even had a full conversation with Snape.

She regretted her decision the moment that she heard his stern reply to her knock. Slowly, and with bated breath, Rosie pushed open the door to reveal herself standing in the entrance.

Severus quickly disguised his surprise as he came face to face with the Potter girl at the door to his office. She was pallid, and ill looking, and she was trembling so fiercely that he was not quite sure if she were breathing.

Severus felt that this situation might constitute as an emergency, wondering if he should floo Albus. The child looked absolutely wretched. In that moment, he'd forgotten to think of James Potter when he looked at her, but thought instead of Lily. Potter's eyes were wide, her green stare met his dark expression and he rose from the desk.

"Potter… are you alright?" He asked cautiously, trying to mimic Albus' soothing tone.

He held his arms out in front of him to warn her of his approach as he slowly moved toward her frozen body.

"P..p…professor Snape. Something is wrong." She shuddered as she spoke.

Severus could tell that he would be hard pressed to get her to answer any of the questions that were burning behind his nonchalant expression.

"Potter, sit down." He ordered.

He had tried to use a tone that implied choice in the matter, but when he uttered the words, he realized that he sounded no different than usual. Potter didn't seem to notice though. She quickly took a seat in front of him so that they were separated only by the desk.

"Now, Miss Potter, can you please tell me why you have decided to grace me with your presence this evening?" Severus tried.

The child began to wring her hands together and she looked down at her lap, but responded to his question.

"I think I'm sick Professor Snape." She said at a level barely above a whisper.

He nodded his head, allowing her to continue.

"I can't remember anything. I'm always so tired. I can't remember where I've been or where I'm going. I have been having… some pain."

"What kind of pain Potter?" Severus asked reassuringly. Well… he thought it had been reassuring. The girl's face seared red and her eyes pricked with the beginnings of tears.

"I…can't tell you Professor, I can't!" she sobbed as she covered her eyes with her face.

Severus tensed and his brain began to work.

"Potter, I would like you to attempt to explain to me calmly what type of pain you are experiencing."

The girl shook her head.

"Potter, if you won't tell me, I'm going to need you to look at me. Do you understand? Look directly into my eyes, and then I need you to think about your pain. Can you do that?" He instructed, his voice neutral.

The girl nodded but kept her hands over her eyes. Severus moved the desk out from in between them and then reached out and lightly pried Potter's hands loose, dropping her arms down to the sides.

She raised her head to stare at him, and as her familiar green eyes pierced his, he silently cast a legilimency spell.

 _Potter sat on the floor of a bathroom with her bottoms off, feeling something sticky that had gotten all over her thighs and her pajamas. She felt upward in between her legs and winced in pain as she moved over her private area with her hand._

Before Severus could see further, Potter had closed her eyes and let out a whimper. Tears poured down the cheeks of her red face, hot with shame. At once, Severus realized with sickening clarity what he saw, and what Potter was trying to tell him.

"Miss Potter. It is important that you disclose to me immediately who did this to you." Severus stated firmly holding her gaze as she tried to look away.

He grasped her elbows in his hands to keep her body facing his. A look of confusion spread across the girl's face and she titled her head to the side.

"What do you mean Professor Snape? Did what?" She asked innocently.

This was the moment that Severus Snape realized that he was in over his head.

"Potter. I need you to tell me the truth. Did somebody force you to have sex with them?" Severus stated slowly, allowing her time to catch up.

The girl shut her eyes tightly and turned her head to the side.

"I don't know what that means Professor." She choked out in between sobs.

In this moment, Severus would have liked to be anywhere else in the world but alone in his office with Rose Potter. He closed his eyes in frustration and then back peddled, wracking his brain for some common ground to go off of.

"Potter. Please listen carefully. Did a boy… or a man that you know try to put his penis into your vagina?"

A look of utter horror at what she had just been asked remained plastered on the girl's face.

"No Professor Snape!" She cried out in revulsion.

Severus was dumbfounded. What had happened to this child? There was no other explanation for what he had witnessed in Potter's memory. She had been raped, but she had no memory of the incident. Severus had an idea.

"Miss Potter. Please look at me again, directly in the eyes, and remember for me everything that you did on the day that you last felt the pain that you describe?" He tried, pulled her chin back up so that their eyes met.

 _Potter eating breakfast, Potter in his potions class, transfigurations, charms, and Defense. Writing a letter up in the Owlery. Heading down the stairs and to Gilderoy Lockhart's office for detention. A story about giants and a concerned fan…_

Severus' heart stopped. Just for a moment. The memory had changed when Potter had entered Lockhart's office. The edges were blurry.

The sequence was unclear. She was present in the memory, but she was only a copy of herself. This memory was false. Severus could spot a false memory from a mile away. With a look of absolute repulsion on his face, Severus let his breathing deepen, and slow down. He tried to compose himself.

The child was obviously very distressed. Rose Potter had spent a total of sixteen weeks in detention with Gilderoy Lockhart this year. Two months ago, Severus himself had spotted a hand shaped bruise on the child's arm… and just three weeks before, he had spotted a large bruising hickey on her neck. He felt sick, resisting the urge to wretch. Gilderoy Lockhart had to be in his mid-forties.

This was no boy that Rose Potter had fallen for, this was a man, her professor, in the same position as Severus himself was with the girl. Shock quickly faded from his system and was replaced with burning, insatiable, rage. Severus could almost feel his gaze turn to stone.

Potter winced as his grasp on her arms tightened. All that Severus could see was Lockhart leering over the girl during the first meeting of the duelling club, grasping her from behind, whispering in her ear. He could see Albus' eyes twinkling as he assigned another six weeks of detention to Potter upon Severus' request with Lockhart.

Albus hadn't really been trying to punish the girl. Neither of them had any idea what they had caused.

Severus did not know what to do with the child. She was staring into space, her eyes glazed over with confusion, and her tears turning into blotches over the pale skin under her eyes. He had to fetch Albus immediately.

Taking one last breath to compose himself, Severus bought the girl's arms down to her sides and began to regain control.

"Potter. I need you to do exactly as I say. Please wait here while I retrieve a dreamless sleep draught from my store cupboard."

"Professor Snape, what's happening? I don't understand what's going on." She cried.

"I will tell you, but you need to trust me. You will need to rest. When you wake up, we can talk. Wait here." Severus moved quickly to his store cupboard and pulled the dreamless sleep from the shelves.

He rushed back out into the office and helped the girl to lie down on the sofa next to where he had moved the desk. He watched as she downed the potion and waited for it to take effect. As soon as he was sure that Potter was asleep, Severus turned towards the fireplace and stepped inside.


	6. Chapter 6

Rosie awoke to the sound of urgent whispering coming from beside her. She was uncomfortable, cold, and her neck hurt form sleeping with her head propped up on the arm of the couch.

She kept her eyes shut for a moment hoping to eavesdrop on the conversation being had. She felt her stomach role with shame and embarrassment at having shown Snape those memories. He was her teacher, and a man. Plus, he hated her more than any other student. Rose did not want to look at him ever again.

The voices came into focus for Rosie as she drifted back into consciousness.

"Severus, my boy, we absolutely cannot tell Rose what happened to her." Whispered a familiar voice beside her.

"Albus she has a right to know. She knows that something is wrong, we cannot keep it from her. That would be cruel, even beyond your usual standards." Snape replied icily.

"Severus my boy, have you developed a sudden affection for the girl?"

"I don't need affection to be horrified by this Albus. She's a child. A professor, in our own faculty did this. It is sick, but you cannot hide the girl's past from her. It isn't fair."

"Severus, you don't understand what this could do to her, what this could do to her magic. I have seen this before. I know what the consequences can be."

"Albus, if you won't talk to her, I will. I am not on your side here."

"Severus, if you do this, the girl will be your responsibility, no matter the consequences."

Rosie stretched her arms to warn her professors that she was waking up. The conversation was immediately halted. She didn't understand what was going on. What had happened to her? Rose opened her eyes with care and brought herself into a sitting position on the couch.

"Good evening Rose, I'm glad you've joined us my dear girl." Professor Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Would you like a lemon drop?" He offered.

She reached out to take the lemon drop from the headmaster and popped it in her mouth. It was soothing to her. It had been a while since she had last eaten. Professor Snape eyed her intently, his head tilted forward waiting for her to ask the inevitable question. Rosie's body betrayed her, and she felt as though she couldn't speak.

"Professor Snape, what happened to me?" She asked, he voice mousey and small.

Snape face remained composed. Dumbledore was staring at Snape with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Potter, tell me, what knowledge do you have on the topic of sexual intercourse?" He asked carefully.

Rosie didn't understand what that meant. She felt like she should know, because both her professors were waiting for her to respond, but she just didn't. "I don't know what that means sir." She admitted breathlessly.

"Severus." Dumbledore cautioned.

It seemed as though Professor Snape didn't know what to say. He kept doing some sort of choking motion, like he was going to speak but then decided not to.

"Alright Potter. Did your Aunt and Uncle ever talk to you about marriage?" Snape tried again.

Rosie was lost. She didn't understand how her aunt and uncle's marriage had anything to do with what had happened to her. "Erm, I'm sorry sir. My aunt and uncle never really talked to me about anything." Rose replied with chagrin.

Professor Snape remained hard-faced, staring at her. Just then, from the opposite side of her, Professor Dumbledore chimed in. He smiled kindly at her and reached out his hand to rest on top of hers.

"Rose my dear. Something very frightening and difficult to explain has been happening to you this year without your knowledge. Professor Snape thinks that it is in your best interest that we are honest with you, and I am inclined to believe him. However, I need you to remain calm whilst we have this conversation."

"Am I sick Professor Dumbledore?" Rosie asked worriedly.

"No, my dear, you are not sick. There is another reason for why you have been experiencing those odd and uncomfortable physical symptoms that might be hard for you to understand right away."

Rosie's face turned cherry red. She brought her hands up to her face again to cover her eyes. She was not comfortable talking about this with the headmaster and her male professor. As if he could read her mind, Snape piped up to the left of her.

"Potter. Professor Dumbledore and myself are men, but we are also adults, and we are your teachers. You should not feel embarrassed or ashamed to disclose your symptoms to us."

Rosie nodded but she didn't speak. "Potter. Human beings are designed with pleasure centres in many areas of the body. Those pleasure centres release hormones and, when stimulated, can cause all sorts of physical changes in the body." Snape explained.

He was obviously trying to stay composed, but she could see that he was cringing.

Rosie nodded that she understood. Then he continued, "One of these pleasure centres can be found in the genitals Potter. That is the penis or vagina." He added.

Dumbledore rolled his thumb over Rosie's hand soothingly and she winced. She would never get used to Professor Snape using those words with her.

"When two people, usually adults, want to experience pleasure together, they will sometimes stimulate the pleasure centre of the other person. Some of the ways to accomplish this include touching the genitals of the other person, or touching their genitals together." It felt like he was teaching a class.

"Gross." Rose shuddered and she started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Dumbledore gave her an encouraging smile and continued to stroke her hand.

"Potter. Do you get where I am coming from with this?" Snape asked, his large nose wrinkling.

"I guess so sir… but I'm still confused. I don't understand why I was having that pain." She replied guardedly.

"There are times Potter, when people who are adults make poor decisions in choosing who to take pleasure from. For example, the body of a child is not compatible with the body of an adult.

When a grown man chooses to take pleasure from a young girl, the insertion of his penis may cause pain and discomfort for the child.

Rosie's stomach turned in knots. Her face flushed again and she pulled her hands off the desk, away from Professor Dumbledore's and began to wring them together.

"Rose." Dumbledore tested.

"Are you saying that somebody put their... you know... private into my…?" Rosie whimpered.

Snape's face contorted for a moment into a pained look, and then he composed it again. That told Rosie exactly what she needed to know.

"Yes, my dear girl, somebody did." Replied Professor Dumbledore.

Suddenly, Rosie's mind was flooded with questions. "Who did that to me? Why don't I remember?" She questioned, confused and upset.

Professor Snape put his head in his hands and did not answer. Dumbledore glanced over at Snape and then turned to Rosie, giving her a very serious, knowing look. Then he asked,

"Rose, do you remember feeling uncomfortable around anyone this year? Maybe you forgot what you talked about with them, or you forget where you had just come from? Maybe you felt different after you left them."

Rosie wracked her brain. When had her confusion started? It was hard to pinpoint, but it eventually dawned on her with sickening clarity.

Detention with Lockhart.

She understood now. She had detention on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Those were the days that she felt the most pain. Those were the days that she had sticky legs, and those were the days that she felt confused.

She would get better over the weekends, and then she would always dip back down into confusion when Wednesday rolled around.

"No." She said clearly. "No, no, no."

Professor Snape's head was still in his hands. He hadn't moved, but Dumbledore got up to sit beside her.

"Professor Lockhart?" Rosie's asked meekly, looking to Dumbledore for the confirmation.

He nodded solemnly. The three of them sat in silence for several minutes. Then Rosie piped up with another question.

"What was the sticky stuff that I had all over me?"

Dumbledore opened his mouth to answer her, but Snape lifted his head back up and faced her before Dumbledore could say anything.

"It is called semen Potter. It is the result of a build up of pleasure in the genitals and released from the testicles through the penis after the threshold of pleasure has been reached.

It was transferred to you from Lockhart. He spat. Semen is responsible for pregnancy in women.

"Wait... pregnancy? Like I could be..."

"No Potter. Am I correct in my assumption that you have not experienced a menstrual period before?" Snape asked calmly.

"I don't think so." She replied. "Good." He stated firmly. He rubbed his hands over his face again.

"Professor Snape, can you bring my memories back?" Rosie asked curiously.

This time it was Dumbledore that interrupted her. "My dear, I don't think that is a good idea. I think it could be very frightening for you."

"Albus." Snape uttered Dumbledore's name warningly.

"I apologize Potter, but once a memory has been tampered with it cannot be brought back in its original form. What I can do is collect the memories from Lockhart of what transpired, and make them available to you for viewing."

"Would you please professor?" Rosie whispered. "I want to see what he did to me."

Snape nodded in agreement with her. "Of course." He stated.

"What's going to happen to him?" Rosie wondered out loud.

"Well Potter, what he did to you is considered illegal in the wizarding world. Sex with an unwilling participant is called rape, and sex with a child participant is called statutory rape.

You have the option to convene the Wizengamot in a trial against him. However, trials in the Wizengamot are public affairs, so you need to be aware that what he did to you could get out."

"No!" Rosie cried. "No please don't let anybody find out! Please!" Rosie could feel herself becoming hysterical.

She didn't want anyone else to ever know what had happened between her and the defense professor. She didn't even know yet what had happened.

"Rose." Dumbledore soothed from beside her. "Nobody is going to do anything without your consent. I need you to calm down and relax."

"Severus, a calming draught would be much appreciated right now I think." He added.

Snape left and returned to the room again with a small vile of pink liquid. He sat down beside her and held it to her lips. She drank the potion in two gulps, and felt herself grow weary again. She began to drift to sleep once more. Her body slumped against something hard beside her.

It was Snape. He stiffened, but did not move her. That was the last thing that she remembered before falling asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Severus remained seated on the couch in his office. The girl had fallen asleep on him. He felt uncomfortable touching her, knowing that her small body lay against his after what had been done to her. Every time he closed his eyes, he pictured the child, Lily's child, pinned underneath of that buffoon of a man.

He remembered how innocent Lily had been at this age, sheltered, but not as sheltered as her daughter. He was almost glad that Lily wasn't here now. He shuddered to think of what she would do to him if she found out that her daughter had been abused and violated for months under his nose, under his protection.

Severus understood that he had promised the girl the memories of what had happened to her, but he wasn't sure that he could collect them without committing murder in the process.

Albus was upset with him and Severus knew why. He knew that Albus wanted Potter to forget what had happened, but Severus knew that she never would. Instead, she would be haunted day in and day out with the knowledge of what had happened to her, but without the memories to back it up.

It was brilliant really; what Lockhart had done. If Severus were to ever sink as low as that man had, this is exactly how he would have done it. Lockhart obviously hadn't been aware that he was an expert in legilimency and bound to protect the Potter girl.

Severus took some comfort in knowing that he served as the hitch in Lockhart's plan. The girl moved against him again and he flinched. This innocent interaction felt impure. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel the way his colleague had.

Albus kept his eyes trained on Severus and the child draped across his body. Severus knew what he was thinking. He had made such a mess with this child. He had tormented and bullied her in the middle of this ordeal. He knew that Albus would be disappointed in him.

"I think you handled that very well Severus." Albus said solemnly. He sounded defeated.

"What can be done about Lockhart?" Snape asked coolly. "We can't very well convene the Wizengamot in this. The entire wizarding world will bare witness to those memories. There won't be a pureblood male in Europe that hasn't seen that girl's naked body. Think about it Albus, think of the torment that she would endure."

"I understand my boy. I will have him out of the castle by the end of the Christmas break."

"I need to get those memories for Potter, but I need to be accompanied to do so. If you will, Albus."

"Of course, my boy. Though I still think that there are some stones best left uncovered."

Severus awkwardly cradled the girl's upper body in his arms as he tried to position her horizontally on the office couch. It was the middle of the night still, so he was fairly certain that they could be to Lockhart's chambers and back before Potter woke up again. In the morning they could deal with the memories.

Severus and Albus would view them first, and then one of them would accompany the girl in viewing them.

They walked slowly and in silence up the stairs towards the defense office. Severus grew more and more enraged with every step. Albus stood beside him the whole way, hand on his arm. When they reached the door, they opened it, went inside, and quickly crossed the room to the entrance of Lockhart's chambers.

Stepping in the professor's quarters in the dark, the two men made their way towards the bedroom. Lying there, undisturbed, was Gilderoy Lockhart. Albus held firmly to Severus' arm, which tensed at the sight of the man.

"Gilderoy." Albus stated firmly and loudly into the night.

The man awoke with a start. He sat up in bed and his eyes focussed in on his nighttime visitors. As soon as the light from his wand caught Lockhart's face, Severus caught himself picturing it again.

This man, leering over the girl, sucking on her neck, whispering to her, threatening her, erasing her memory. Severus lunged forward. He pinned Lockhart to the bed by his throat and kneeled over top of him.

"How does it feel to be pinned down by somebody stronger than you Gilderoy?" He sneered as he drove his elbow into the man's chest holding him firm to the bed.

"How does it feel to be powerless? Without your wand… I could do anything I wanted to you. You know what that's like don't you? To do anything and everything that you want with someone?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Lockhart choked as Severus' grip tightened around his neck.

Severus pulled from his pocket a small vile of clear liquid. He forced it down the man's throat. Albus watched in silence from behind.

Loosening the grip on the man's throat so he could swallow, Severus asked again, "How does it feel to take power away from someone who is already helpless?"

"It feels good." Replied Lockhart. His voice changed. It became cold and unfeeling.

"What did you do to Rose Potter?" Severus demanded.

Lockhart laughed.

"I touched her, I made her touch me. I held her down. I made her lie there while I did whatever I wanted. She cried and screamed but nobody came running to help the _girl who lived_. Imagine my elation to find that I had six more weeks with her all to myself _._

Severus was shaking with rage now. He tightened the grip once again against the man's throat willing himself to snap his neck like a twig. Albus' presence behind him became more pronounced when he felt the headmaster approach and put his hand on Severus' shoulder.

"Severus, retrieve the memories."

It was only then that he remembered what he was there to do. He held his wand up against the man's head and Albus pulled out an empty vile.

"I want every memory, of every time, of every single word, touch, or thought that you had about or shared with Rose Potter. Now." Severus insisted.

Lockhart struggled to breathe. Severus was choking him, and his now red face was so hot that his eyes brimmed with tears. The tears began to fall as he choked, but instead of clear, they came out silver.

Severus knew these as memories. Albus collected them in the vile. When the tears began to come out clear again, Severus released the struggling man underneath him. He gasped for air and sat up in the bed once again. Albus had pulled Severus off of him and back towards the door.

"Gilderoy, I am officially expelling you from Hogwarts, its grounds, or any affiliations that it may have. I want you to leave the premises by the end of tomorrow, and I want you to never return here. If you do so, your name will be plastered across the front of the Daily Prophet for months to come. Do you understand?" Albus relayed.

"Yes!" Lockhart gasped.

"I have never been so disgusted with an employee in my entire life. You should be truly ashamed Gilderoy." He finished.

Albus and Severus left the man's quarters as swiftly as they had entered them, exited through the office, and walked back to the dungeons together in silence. When they arrived in Severus' office, the girl was still asleep on the couch. She looked peaceful. Albus went quickly to his headquarters to retrieve the pensive, and returned. Together, they poured the memories into the basin, and stepped inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Anyone who thinks that Lockhart's memories will be triggering for them can feel free to skip this chapter. I have made it so that no information that you don't already know will be shared, only the specifics, so you will not be missing any general plot. It might be a little more graphic than I originally intended.**

When Rosie woke up this time, she was no longer on the couch in Snape's office. She was in a bed. This was definitely not her own bed. She was confused, but she felt safe, rested, and hungry. Sitting up in the large bed, Rose noticed a set of small purple pajamas and a towel resting on the foot.

The pajamas had little snitches on them. The door next to the bedroom led to a small en suite and Rosie guessed that she was meant to shower and change. She did feel disgusting. She let the warm water rush over her body as she reflected on the what had yet to come.

She felt relieved to know that she was going to start feeling better, but she was nervous because she had understood how worried Professor Dumbledore was for her to see Lockhart's memories.

When Rosie stepped out of the shower, she dressed herself in the fresh pajamas. The bottoms were loose and the top fit her well, but they were not her own. She pulled her wet hair back into a quick braid and picked up the pink toothbrush that was laid out on the counter.

When Rosie had finished getting changed and cleaned up, she opened the door to the bedroom tentatively. In the next room she realized, both Professor Snape and Dumbledore sat in silence. They were each on opposite couches. The décor in the living area was all black, and Rosie understood that is must be Snape's living chambers.

She felt embarrassed to be permitted inside, and to have slept it what was obviously her most hated professor's bed. Snape had his head in his hands again. That made her very nervous because she had never seen her Professor express anything other than that rigidity and sarcasm before last night.

Dumbledore sat on the other couch, his hands folded on his lap and his eyes closed almost as though he might be asleep sitting up.

Rosie stepped out of the bedroom into the living area.

"Hi." She stated simply.

Immediately, Professor Snape straightened up where he sat and took his hands from his eyes. Dumbledore moved slower. He opened his eyes, turned to her and smiled.

"Good morning Rose. How did you sleep?" He asked gently.

"Well, thank you Professor. Thanks for the pajamas." She responded.

Snape just nodded at her. Rosie wasn't sure what to say next, but luckily Dumbledore beat her to it.

"My dear girl, Professor Snape and I are going to have to insist that you eat something before we proceed with today's highly unpleasant activity."

Rosie touched her hand to her stomach. She was beginning to realize how hungry she really was.

"Ok professor, thank you." She said quietly.

Still standing awkwardly at the entrance to the living room, it was a welcome gesture when Snape got up quietly from his seat and directed her towards a small table. He opened a pot on the stove and pulled out some soup. He served a small portion into a bowl and placed it in front of her.

"All of it Potter." He commanded.

Rosie was very uncomfortable sitting there eating her soup. The two men just sat in silence, they didn't try to make conversation with her. It was obvious that they were just waiting for her to finish.

When Rosie was finally done eating, she brought her dish to the sink and began to wash it by hand. When she was done, she turned around to see both of her professors staring at her perplexed.

"Umm… so can we do this?" Rosie asked curiously.

She just wanted it to be over with. She wanted to be done with this horrible incident so that she could get back to her friends and classes and act like everything was normal. Dumbledore put up his hands like he was admitting defeat and gave Snape a meaningful look as he walked over to take his seat on the couch again.

"Sit down Potter." Snape motioned toward the couch where he had been seated previously.

He took a seat next to Dumbledore who rested his hand on Snape's shoulder for a moment. The whole exchange was weird for Rosie.

"Miss Potter, last night the headmaster and I were able to retrieve the memories of what happened from Lockhart." He started.

"We wanted to make sure that you would be strong enough to handle viewing them, so for that reason we had you rest, eat, and change. I want to be honest with you when I say that myself and Professor Dumbledore have already seen the memories. You need to be prepared."

"Oh." Was all that Rosie could muster up in response. She was starting to feel sick. Rose felt herself wringing her hands together again.

"When you are ready, I will bring out the pensive."

"What is a pensive?" Rosie asked.

"It is a small basin that contains the memories that we took from Lockhart's head. You will be asked to touch the surface of the basin's contents and then you will feel as though you are falling into the memories."

"Will I be alone?" She wondered out loud. Snape responded quickly and with a firm "No. I will accompany you."

Now feeling really anxious, Rosie waited for Snape to bring out the pensive. He placed it in the centre of the two couches on an end table and he shot her a warning glance.

"Potter on the count of three, you will place your hand inside of the basin and I will do the same." She was going to be sick.

As Snape began the count, she couldn't resist reaching out and grabbing a handful of the Professor's long black cloak in her fist. He flinched, but did not stop her, and on three they both put their hands into the swirling silver liquid of the basin.

They fell for a moment and landed in the dimly lit defense office, Rosie's hand still clutching tightly to Professor Snape's cloak. He looked down at her and something akin to physical pain flashed across his face before he reached out his arm and placed his hand on Rosie's shoulder in what she assumed was support. The first memory was beginning.

 _Rosie ran through the door of the defense office a little breathless. "Sorry I'm late Professor Lockhart! She apologized nervously. "Ah not to worry Miss Potter, it happens."_

Severus did something with his wand to fast forward the memory. "This memory is real up until the end of the detention Potter." When they got to the end of the memory, Rosie stared in shock.

" _Now Miss Rose, Lockhart sneered menacingly… he approached her and grabbed at the tie around her neck. You are going to go back up to your dormitory. You will not talk to anyone, and you will go directly to sleep. You need to practice following my orders from now on." He demanded. "I am going to hang on to this sweet girl." His voice disgustingly sweet as he slowly undid the tie from her neck, caressing his hands across her throat. "Obliviate" she heard, and then the memory went dark._

Rosie's brows furrowed. She could only stare in shock at what she had just witnessed. She had not idea that any of that had ever transpired. She'd thought her tie was at Hagrid's. She began to tremble and Snape must have noticed because he paused the memories, moved to kneel in front of her, and held her upper arms to keep her still.

"Potter. This is the very first time you ever encountered Professor Lockhart alone. We cannot do this if you are going to fall apart. You need to stay strong, and watch. Do not close your eyes. Do not hide. I am not trying to hurt you, or torture you, but if you do not watch these memories, you will regret it for the rest of your life." He said very seriously.

Rosie mustered up all of the courage that she had and nodded at her professor. "Yes sir." She said bravely, but she was still trembling. Snape started the memories again.

 _Rosie was watching from the sidelines as the other Rosie sat on the couch in the defense office with Professor Lockhart beside her. He moved in close, took her cheek in his hand, and kissed her lips. This seems to rile him up because he breathed in deeply and sprung himself onto her in a semi-sitting position. She yelled as he did this, but he put one hand over her mouth. He began fumbling with her sweater and managed to take it off. Then he was touching her, on her breasts, through the thin undershirt that she wore beneath the sweater. Rosie could see the horror in her own eyes but she couldn't fight back, he was too big. He seemed to burn himself out. Lockhart removed his hand from her mouth and helped her put her sweater back on. It was backwards. The memory faded._

"Oh my god." She breathed. Snape's thumb rubbed across her shoulder. Rosie could only stare as one memory faded into another.

 _She was on Lockhart's couch again. Her pants were of and so were her underwear. Lockhart had his fingers inside of her. He had the other hand over her mouth. Her body was still and her face pale. As he moved them, he rubbed himself against her._

Next memory.

 _He lay on top of her, his fist full of her hair and her face to the couch. They were fully clothed. Her rubbed himself on her from behind as she struggled to breathe._

Next memory.

 _He forced her down onto her knees on the floor beneath him. He took out his… private._

Now the professor gripped her shoulder tighter, he must have known what was coming.

 _Then, Lockhart grabbed another fist full of hair and with his other hand he grabbed tightly onto her arm… hard enough to leave a hand shaped bruise. He pushed Rosie's face into his…. She tried to gag and scream but he didn't let her. He forced it into her mouth and moved her back and forth by her hair. When he was done Rosie cried and gagged. Lockhart tried to help her clean up, but she left looking a mess._

Rosie was so shocked. She was leaning on Professor Snape because she couldn't stand alone but she did not look at him. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want him to see her like this.

She didn't want to watch anymore, but somehow, she couldn't close her eyes. Rosie watched three more memories where Lockhart did that same thing with his… private to her mouth. She had one hand pressed against her throat and she could almost feel her gag reflex balking as she watched.

 _Lockhart undressed her, slowly, with a smile on his face. He caressed her skin, her breasts, and he ran his hand down her arm creating goose pimples on her already shaking body. He began to undo her skirt, her tights, and pull down her underwear. He took out his… too. The professor pushed her roughly back onto the couch and got on top of her naked body. She heard the other Rosie scream, but it fell on deaf ears. His private became hard like a stick and he forced her legs to open. Tears fell down the other Rosie's face and she shrieked in pain as Lockhart leaned forward and put himself… inside of her. Over and over again._

Snape paused the memories again as Rosie almost fell over from the force of what she had just seen. The professor caught her and held her up to look at him.

"Potter breathe." He ordered.

She let out the air that she had been holding in. Severus got behind her, and put both hands on the sides of her shoulders, holding her up. He played the memories again.

 _Lockhart holding her down, Lockhart inside of her again, sucking on her neck as he moved. The other Rosie couldn't scream, she was frozen_. The memories were changing so fast. _Him trying to clean her up. He bit her, he put it inside of her again. He hit her in her stomach to keep her down. He flipped her over so that her face was cover by the couch again as he pushed himself inside of her._

Rosie counted ten different times that he had put his… into her private before finally the memories ended. He'd done something different to her every time. Each time was just as appalling as the last. When the whole room went black again, her professor held onto her, supporting all of her weight, and she could feel them going up again, floating into nothing.

When they reached the living room again in Snape's quarters, Dumbledore was there waiting. Rosie could still feel Snape supporting her, but now she felt repulsed.

She turned and pushed him away with all of her strength and shouted "Get off me!"

Her voice broke as she did so. Snape backed away and stood at a longer distance, his hands in a surrender. She was trembling fiercely, and her teeth were chattering. Professor Dumbledore tried to reach out to hold onto her but she moved backwards. She didn't want to be touched.

She didn't want to be near anyone. She didn't want to think. It felt as though her whole body was reacting to what she had just seen. Her whole body hurt. She couldn't even cry.

"Please don't touch me!" she cried.

Snape nodded and moved even farther back but Dumbledore kept trying. He reached out to her again and grabbed her wrist lightly in his hand. She recoiled. It felt like he was burning her.

"Severus, you need to help me get her to the bed." He directed softly.

It took Snape a moment to process what the headmaster had said but he began to move toward her.

"No!" She cried, "Please don't touch me!"

But she felt strong arms close around her. She was in shock. She heard the sound of glass shattering from the kitchen, pots clanging together, and something fell on the floor. Her body went limp, as it had in the memories, and she waited to feel herself pressing into the bed.

When she was safely tucked in. She curled herself up into the smallest ball that she could, and she lay there. She didn't think. She could not move, cry, or feel anything. Rosie just lay there.


	9. Chapter 9

Severus sat with Albus for a while in silence. The headmaster had asked Minerva to take over the leadership of Hogwarts for the day so that he could deal with this matter. The girl had not moved from the fetal position in his bed. Severus was not sure that showing her what had happened all at once had been a good idea. Perhaps he should have let her watch one memory at a time.

Albus was very concerned about the mess that Potter had made in the kitchen. When Severus' had picked her up to move her, it seemed as though her magic had lashed out and wrecked some of his kitchen things. He wasn't worried, but Albus… The headmaster was positively fretting. Now, as they sat together in the living room trying to decide what the next step should be, Albus spoke up. His voice was calm, but he was visibly upset.

"Severus. I have seen this before. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen." He whispered.

"Albus, give her time. You saw what happened, anyone would be reeling. She's a child, she is resilient."

"No, Severus, that recoil in her magic, I'm afraid that it won't fade over time."

"What are you talking about Albus?" Severus asked incredulously.

"My dear boy, poor young Rose is not the only child that I have seen this happen to."

"I have seen this before as well Albus. I have been the head of Slytherin for over 10 years. This is not the first rape to occur on the premises."

"Yes, but Severus… have you ever seen one this bad? Have you ever seen a reaction like this?"

"No, I haven't" admitted Severus. It was true. There had never in his time been another incident of a professor behaving this way, or for such an extended period of time. He had seen things like this pass between students, but this time it felt very sinister.

"I have. Severus, my younger sister… When she was the same age as Rose is now, she was attacked in the same manner by five muggle boys in our neighborhood."

Severus' eyes widened. It was rare for Albus to share with him the details of his own past.

"You see my boy… Ariana never got over what had been done to her. It started with just one outburst, but it never stopped. Anytime she would feel an emotion too strongly… the same thing. She'd hurt herself, she'd hurt other people. It eventually killed her Severus."

"Albus, I had no idea."

"It is the single greatest shame of my life. I could not protect her from herself, and I fear that the same will happen with the Potter girl. I am at a loss for answers. Ariana was the one person I could never save."

"Albus, I sympathize, but this girl, she is not your sister. This is Potter. She is a pig-headed, stubborn, optimistic child. She is as careless as her father. She'll shake it off."

"Severus. Rose is nothing like her father. She has no memory of James. If anything, I find her to be very much like Lily."

That made Severus cringe. "Don't. Albus." He barked, and just like that, the conversation had ended.

The Potter girl stayed in bed for days. Albus had left him in charge of her care. He was going mad. They had decided to have Potter stay with him for the duration of the Christmas break. Her friends had been informed that she had fallen ill.

It had been three days since the girl had seen the memories, and she was still non-responsive. Every time Severus entered the bedroom where she lay, she screamed. She thought that he was Lockhart, she flinched when he'd look at her. He felt as though he had made a grave error, that maybe Albus had been right. She hadn't eaten, she hadn't showered.

Each day Severus had been forced to get her out of bed, bring her to the bathroom, pull down her pajamas pants and force her to use the toilet. He was afraid if she didn't, she would end up with a bladder infection. This obviously made the girl hysterical. Her magic had been erratic. She would cause things to fall.

She'd created a crack in the bathroom mirror that morning when he took her in there. Severus couldn't bring himself to put her in the shower even though she needed one. He had already done enough to hurt her. Just a week ago he had comfortably been able to hate the girl from a distance. Now, she had been thrust upon him for an undetermined amount of time.

It came as a relief when Albus had informed him that Lockhart had gone. The staff and students would be puzzled in the new year, but Severus knew that he would not be able to look at that man again without picturing his memories.

It was night time again and he tried to get comfortable on the couch and rest; but every time he closed his eyes, he watched the same scenarios play out in his head. The same scenarios that Potter must be reliving over and over again in his own bed in the other room.


	10. Chapter 10

Rosie's mind was beginning to unfog. She had spent the past few days lost in her own thoughts. Her body felt like it wasn't her own. Every time she wanted to get up, or to move, she felt something pressing her down again. She could see other Rosie's face in her head, contorted in pain.

Professor Lockhart's hands pushed her down. She was having a hard time connecting what she saw happen to the other Rosie, with her own body. She felt the pain but it wasn't her own memory. She felt so helpless.

After several days, and a small bout of courage, Rosie decided to get out of bed on her own and take a shower. She sat up in bed and swung her legs over the side, then shakily, she tested her feet. The first time she tried to stand, she felt her knees buckle beneath her.

The second time she felt a little bit stronger. When Rose reached the shower, she stripped off her pajamas and turned the water on as hot as she could stand it.

She felt the burn as she entered into the stream but she was just relieved to feel something. She took the cloth from the side of the tub and began to scrub her skin clean. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin felt raw.

When she finally finished her shower, Rose still felt dirty. Realizing that she had no other clothes but the now smelly pajamas, Rosie started by re-braiding her hair with the towel on. She brushed her teeth and then took a long look in the mirror. It was cracked now. She wondered who had done that.

Her eyes look large on her face. Her stomach growled for food. Not able to bring herself to put on the old pajamas again, she made sure that the towel was wrapped around her whole body, covering the redness of her skin, and stepped out into the living room.

Snape had already seen her naked one thousand times over now with no reaction, so she felt like it would be alright.

As the room came into focus, she saw Snape's body stretched out uncomfortably on the longest couch. His feet still hung off the edge. She couldn't tell if he was asleep, but she didn't want to wake him if he was. She was pretty sure he had been coming in to her room to take care of her over the past few days.

"Professor Snape?" Rosie whispered into the dark.

Almost instantly, the man shot out of his slumber, stood up, and turned to face her. "Potter. You're out of bed." He noted calmly. She nodded, and tried to fix her towel so that it covered all of her. He realized that she had taken of the purple pajamas and he held out his hand.

"Wait there Potter, I will make you some more pajamas." He ordered.

Snape disappeared into another small room on the other side of the flat and within a few minutes he returned with something pink in his hands. He handed her the pajamas and she went back into his bedroom to change.

She unfolded them and realized that he had decorated these ones with white owls. That seemed awfully nice of Snape. She was still very uncomfortable with the sudden personality change, but for now, she accepted the pajamas as a welcome modification. They fit the same as the previous pajamas.

When she was ready, she went back out to the living area and found Snape in the kitchen putting together something to eat. She sat down at the table as he finished. It looked as though he was making eggs. He put some fruit next to the eggs, placed the plate down on the table, and sat down in the chair opposite hers.

"Eat." He commanded. Next to the food he left a giant glass of water full to the brim.

"Is this where you live?" Rosie asked. She regretted asking such a stupid question as soon as she did.

"It is Potter." He replied. Her professor looked like he wanted to say something else, but he stayed silent.

The silence grew thicker as Rosie continued to eat until suddenly Snape interrupted with another question. "How are you feeling?"

Rosie hesitated. She wasn't sure if she should tell the truth or not. Being honest seemed like the best course of action. She was still not certain that Snape couldn't read minds yet to outright lie. "I feel… dirty." She replied slowly.

He responded with a solemn nod. "Role up your sleeve."

"Why?" she asked nervously.

"Just do it Potter." Rosie did as she was told. She rolled her sleeve up to reveal her red, blotchy skin, sensitive from the shower heat and the excessive scrubbing.

"Hm. That's what I thought. You cannot do this to your skin." He stated point blank.

"Sorry." She replied, ashamed. Snape could sense her discomfort. "No Potter, I'm sorry. I noticed that something was wrong a long time ago and I did not say or do anything."

"You did?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes. I saw the bruises on your arm, and on your neck. I thought maybe you had an older boyfriend. I did not explore it, and for that I am ashamed."

"An older boyfriend?" Rosie began to feel sick again. Her breathing became shallow, she was thinking about the memories again. She took her hands from the plate and started to wring them together. Reality was fading and her mind felt farther and farther away.

"Potter."

She didn't respond.

"Potter." He repeated.

He reached out and touched her arm.

"Rose." Snape repeated.

That brought her back to reality. She had never heard Professor Snape use her first name before.

"Sorry." She said meekly. "Every time I start to feel something, or … remember, I just go away. I don't know how to stop it."

"Understandable. I might be able to teach you to stop it if you'd like Potter."

"You can? How?"

"Do you recall when you came to my office to confess your fears?"

Rosie wondered what kind of question that was. Of course, she remembered. She didn't answer right away, staring at the man.

"Indeed I can read your mind Potter. That was a superfluous question, you are correct."

Rosie noticed with a shudder that Snape tried to crack a small smile. He must be really trying to make her feel better. That had been exactly what she'd been thinking. "Wait, you can actually read minds?"

"That is the discipline I would like to teach you."

"what do you mean?"

"Potter, have you ever heard of the branch of magic called occlumency?"

"No, Professor."

"Occlumency, is the art of protecting your mind, controlling your thoughts, and blocking unpleasant memories from arising. It also serves to keep your mental faculties organization and to control your emotions."

"Oh, you're going to teach it to me? Is that what you are saying? What does that have to do with mind reading?"

"Occlumency has a sister discipline called Legilimency, a subject that I know well. Legilimency is the process of accessing other people's thoughts, kind of like mind reading. It is only possible with direct eye contact."

"That's how you have been reading my thoughts."

"Yes, that is the explanation.

"Can I learn both? Many if I could've read his thoughts this would never have happened…" Rosie trailed off.

"Potter. Nothing that you did or didn't do made this happen. I will teach you whatever you want to know, but I don't want to ever hear you think that way."

"How can you be sure professor?"

"Potter, there are dynamics of power that should never be abused. One of those dynamics is adult and child, another is professor and student. The power was all his as it would be if it were anyone else. You are a child and he is an adult."

"Like you." Rosie rebounded. "You pick on me all the time and you use your power as a professor to give me detention when I don't deserve it."

Rosie could tell that she had hit a nerve because Snape growled hit his hand down on the table causing a loud bang. Rosie shrieked and flinched back. She got up quickly from the table and scurried back into Snape's room flinging the door closed and covering herself with the duvet.

Rose had forgotten for a moment about everything that had happened, but she realized in that moment that nobody was a safe person anymore. She was all that she had.


	11. Chapter 11

Rosie heard a loud bang from outside the bedroom. There was a tension building up inside of her, the pressure inside her body, inside her mind was so intense that she felt as though she might explode. She couldn't hear or see.

Snape was right. There was a balance of power and Rosie was at the bottom of it. She had always been bullied, by Voldemort, her family, Snape, other students, now Lockhart. She couldn't do this anymore, she couldn't take it. The pressure pounded behind her eyes and suspended her stomach.

Suddenly, and with unparalleled force, both lamps that were set on the bedside tables on either side of her exploded. Their bulbs broke and glass shattered everywhere. The lamps flew off the tables and into the wall across from where she sat. Rosie lay in the glass afraid to move.

The noise brought Snape into the room. She could see from the corner of her eye that his hand was bloody. Did he punch the wall because of what she had said?

"Potter! What happened?" He demanded, rushing over to where she sat on the bed and moving straight for her forehead.

"I don't know what happened" She cried reaching up to touch the glass in her face. "I just got so scared, or angry, I don't know!" Rose was sobbing and Snape was whispering some sort of incantation.

The glass began to clear itself away, and when it did, he took a seat in front of her on the bed.

"Hold still Potter." Snape ordered, holding his wand in one hand and reaching for her head with another.

"No! don't touch me, please!" She cried.

"Potter relax." He said firmly. She continued to cry and flinch away from his attempts to heal her wound.

"Rose." He used her name. "Lay down and stop moving now."

Rosie didn't know what it was but something about him using her first name made her calmer. She did as she was instructed and laid down on the bed. He only took a moment to close the wound and when she opened her eyes, he was still sitting next to her.

Her green eyes met his black, and she realized at that moment just how big Snape really was. He towered over her even sitting down. She realized with a pang of nerves that he could do anything he wanted to her. She would be powerless to stop him. The man studied her carefully, keeping her gaze locked with his.

"No Potter. I know that how I have behaved with you in the past hasn't been fair. I have abused the dynamic of power, but I would. never. do that. to you. Do you understand me?"

"I looked in your eyes, didn't I?" She realized that he had heard her inner dialogue. Snape nodded. "I am not a good man Potter, but I have never done anything like that to anyone."

"Why do you hate me so much?" She asked innocently.

She stared up at him. In her head she asked clearly,

"What did I do?" Rosie was beginning to understand that Snape was more relaxed around her when she gave him this look.

Snape gave a long sigh.

"Potter, it has been a very long day, and now it is the night. You have a lot to process still. I am not about to add to your burden. Please go to sleep. Tomorrow we can start with basic occlumency training."

"And Legilimency?" Rosie wondered.

"Fine." Snape replied.

"Will you be here if I wake up Professor?" Rosie asked and he nodded. He got up from the bed and left the room. It was darker than usual, because of the lamps.

Rosie slept through the night, but she dreamt of him. She dreamt of him and she woke up gagging. When she arose the next day, her braid was still in tact from the night before. She left it in, brushed her teeth, and went out to the kitchen with the owl pajamas still on.

Rose wasn't sure if she would ever be allowed to wear clothes again. Rosie didn't know how it was possible, but she was feeling pain in her private area again. She thought that maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her, or a product of her dream, but it hurt just like it had before.

It had hurt everyday since she had seen the memories. She didn't tell Snape though. She was still so embarrassed. When Rosie made it into the kitchen, she saw that Professor Snape was cooking something. He had his sleeves rolled up, and his cloak off. She approached from behind and he turned around when he heard her enter.

The first thing that Rosie noticed when he turned around was a large tattoo that covered his left wrist. It was some kind of serpent. As soon as Rosie laid eyes on it, her scar stung like alcohol on a wound. She reached up to cover it with her hands.

"Ah!" Rosie cried out, startled. "What is that?!"

Snape quickly rolled down his left sleeve and came over to where she stood. "Show me your scar."

She lifted her hand from her forehead and revealed to him the lightning bolt. He examined it carefully.

"Professor, what kind of tattoo is that?" Usually my scar only hurts around… you know… things that have to do with Voldemort."

" _Don't_ say that name Potter. It's nothing. Forget about it." He said dangerously.

Rosie realized that she was not going to get him to tell her, so she changed the subject.

"Professor, what happened to Professor Lockhart? Is he still here at Hogwarts?"

Snape stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "He is gone."

"Ok good. Can I tell you something?"

Snape stared at her surprised. "Yes… of course you may."

"Ok but you need to do that legilimency thing again because I don't want to say it."

"Potter." Snape sighed loudly. "Haven't we passed this by now?"

She just stared up at him.

"Fine." He moved closer to her and looked her in the eyes. She showed him in her mind what she had dreamt, the gagging, and the pain that she was still having. The whole time, Snape kept his expression neutral.

"Maybe we should get you looked at by a mediwitch." He reasoned.

"Will you go with me?" she asked. He rolled his eyes and nodded again. "Yes Potter, I will take you to the mediwitch."

"After occlumency training?" She asked again.

"Potter you will be the death of me. Eat your breakfast so that we can get on with it then."

When Rosie finished her breakfast, she went and sat down on the couch. She patted the other end motioning for Snape to come over and sit. He was reluctant at first, but resigned because she looked at him again the way she was learning to do.

"Ok, teach me." She said.

"Occlumency is a very slow process Potter, it doesn't take just one lesson."

"Well we have to start somewhere no?" she contradicted.

"The first step is to think of a specific emotion provoking memory Potter." He warned.

"Ok done." Rosie replied.

Snape looked at her incredulously. "Alright then Potter. You need to close your eyes, and imagine the memory. Then, imagine that you are building walls around it. Can you picture that?"

"Yes professor."

"Alright, tell me when you have your memory contained in the walls."

Rosie held her eyes shut for a moment and the nodded. "Ok, I'm ready."

Snape shook his head. "Now open your eyes, and look directly at me, thinking about the walls that you have built, and I will try to break them down."

She opened her eyes and stared up at him. He stared back, that intense look on his face, and she could feel a tickle in the back of her mind. Rosie pictured the walls as hard as she could in the front of her mind.

Just as soon as she felt the tickle though, she began to feel the walls collapse. Suddenly, the memory flooded her senses. She felt the pain of the punch, and she saw Dudley laughing over her as she fell to the ground. The tickling sensation stopped, and she could tell that Snape had pulled back.

"Good job Potter. That was not exceptional, but it was not abysmal either. What was that memory?" He added.

"Oh, it was just something from when I was little." She dismissed.

She tried several more times to keep Snape out of her mind with little success. However, he seemed to think that she was making progress.

"Professor, is it my turn yet?" She whined impatiently. "I was to try legilimency."

Her professor closed his eyes in agitation. "Potter, today you will have one chance and one chance alone do you hear me?" She nodded in agreement.

"Now, you are not a silent spell caster yet, so you need to take out your wand, point it at me and say the spell "legilimens." Rosie took out her wand.

"Remember to look directly in my eyes, and think about moving into my head."

Rosie did as she was told, she pointed her wand at him, stared up into his face with her big green eyes, and said the spell.

 _Instantly, she was taken from where she was into a large black cavern. She could see in the distance a large fortress wall and she ran towards it. When she arrived, she knocked at the sides. She ran up against it, and she shouted at the gate, but she could not open it. She became bored quickly, and she decided to pull away from the fortress. As she made her exit from Snape's mind, something came at her from the side. It was the image of a young woman, actually, Rosie thought it was herself but then she realized that the woman had red hair, not brown. She only got a momentary glimpse before she was sucked back onto the couch._

Snape was glaring at her when she returned. "Wow professor! I couldn't get in at all!" she shouted. "But who was that woman beside me?" Rosie wondered out loud. "She looked very familiar."

Her professor was staring at her in shock. "Potter, you did not recognize the women that you saw in my mind?" He asked in disbelief.

"No… she answered. Should I have?"

"Potter, that was your mother." He replied, stunned.


	12. Chapter 12

Severus had a headache. The Potter girl had been up and down since the night before. She would cry and scream, she broke things. Sometimes she was afraid of him, sometimes she was playful with him. It all felt wrong. She wanted nothing to do with Severus, and then the next moment she wanted to go into his mind.

He couldn't let his guard down without her asking thousands of questions. What did it matter to her about his tattoo? Severus was exhausted. He had not slept in days and Albus had all but abandoned them. Not to mention, the headmaster had been right, the girl was still having magical outbursts, not as frequently as the emotional ones, but often enough for it to be concerning.

He couldn't believe that she had equated his bullying to what Lockhart had done. That had made him feel like scum. Severus understood the connection that she had made, the abuse of power. It still had made him feel sick. As if it hadn't been bad enough already, he had to behave the way that he did.

He made her scream. She broke the lamps because of what he did. He had used forced the frighten her to silence. Severus knew that he was a monster, but he had never realized just what he was capable of.

Everything seemed to be happening at the wrong time. Relief had washed over him when Potter had come out of the bedroom that morning smiling and teasing him. She had come to him again to confess her feelings, she confided in him. It had made Severus feel less bad for what had happened the night before.

Of course that couldn't last. He could not believe how stupid he had been. He had let looking into Potter's eyes remind him of Lily _while_ she had been in his head. Even worse, the child didn't recognize her own mother. He could almost feel the sadness that was surely radiating off of Lily from beyond the grave. He had to tell her, but he knew that it would open a can of worms.

Severus looked into her big green eyes as she stared up at him and asked, "Really? That was my mom?"

"It was." He replied with a sigh.

"Why was she in your mind Professor? Did you know her?" The little girl asked hopefully.

"I did Potter." Severus could almost see the child light up. He wanted to die.

"Oh please professor, please tell me about her. Everyone… they always talk about my father, but I have always wanted to know about my mom." She begged.

Severus' heart clenched. He closed his eyes and brought up his strongest barriers, the ones he used in his days as a death eater.

"Your mother…Lily and I grew up in the same neighborhood Potter." He confessed, his voice strained." Potter paid no mind to his obvious discomfort and squealed with excitement.

"You did?!" She shouted. "Were you friends? Do you know what her name was before she married my father? Do you know my Aunt Petunia?" She asked those three questions in that order, in one breath.

Severus felt regret seeping into his veins. He should never have admitted to knowing her.

"Yes Potter, we were friends… for a time. Her name was Lily Evans, and yes, I did have the great misfortune of knowing your Aunt Petunia, and her horrid husband."

"Wait…but if you were friends, and you knew Uncle Vernon, then you had to have still been friends as teenagers, at Hogwarts!" Severus wanted to crawl in a hole.

"We were Potter. We were friends for a long time."

The girl was now positively squirming with elation. Suddenly, they both heard a crash from the kitchen. A handful of glasses flew across the room and broke as they hit the wall on the other side leaving a dent where they had hit.

The girl's elation quickly turned into fear, and she stared and Severus. "Did I do that?" She asked him meekly. He held out his hand to prevent her from getting up, and he went over to the kitchen and quickly cleaned up the mess.

When he returned, Potter had her head on her knees and she was staring off into space. Her tiny frame appeared even smaller as she shrank herself into the corner of the couch.

"Potter, look at me." He tried.

She looked right through him. He groaned internally. "Rose, look at me." He repeated using her name. He didn't know why this always worked, but it did. The girl lifted her head and looked at him.

"This is natural Potter." Snape lied through his teeth.

"When a witch or wizard experiences a trauma this can happen, but it will go away. You just have to give your magic time to heal from what happened." Severus sounded so convincing that even he almost believed what he said.

"Now." He tried. "Do you want me to talk about your mother or do you want to talk about Lockhart?" The girl cracked a small smile and replied, "My mother please."

"What do you want to know?" Severus questioned.

He couldn't decide what sounded less appealing to him, talking about his friendship with Lily to Potter, or talking about child rape again with Potter.

"Everything. She said. What was my mom like? Was she nice? Was she good? What did she do?" She asked quickly.

Severus noted that she had already overcorrected for what had just happened. He could see her strain to keep her excitement level low.

"If you are ever unsure about what your mother was like Potter, all you have to do is look at yourself." Severus cringed internally.

He hated to admit it, but it was the truth. Potter reminded him so much of Lily it was sometimes unbearable. Potter's eyes widened when he said that.

"She was happy and full of energy, but she was also very sheltered and naïve, as you are. She was a Gryffindor, which made her extremely foolish, but she had an optimism about life, and she put her trust in anyone who allowed her to, even when they did not deserve it. Your mother had friends of all types." Severus had made up his mind that this was all he wanted to say for now.

The girl looked as if she might burst into tears. "Potter, reduce your emotions." He added smoothly. The child smiled in response, and before Severus could say anything else, he had his arms full of little girl.

She wrapped herself around his in a hug. He was shocked, and it took all of his willpower not to flinch away or push her off of him. He still was very uncomfortable touching her. Potter didn't seem to notice though. She kept herself attached to him for longer than necessary. He tried to show support by patting her back.

"They would be so disgusted with me now professor." She whispered to him, still clinging onto his neck.

He could not handle anymore of this changing emotion. Severus was lucky if he felt one emotion all day. This girl, she felt five emotions in one minute.

"Potter. Your parents would not be disgusted with you. Don't ever say that. You did not do anything wrong." He said plainly.

He had read that rape victims tended to do this a lot, this weird masochistic blaming of themselves. Severus had seen both Lily and James Potter disgusted before, and he could not imagine either of them ever feeling that way towards this small child. In fact, he was sure that Lily would be handling this situation a lot better than Severus was right now.

Finally, the girl set him free of the hug, and she leaned back onto the couch. He was still seated on the small table in front of her.

"Potter, I think that it would be best if we keep your situation within the school, so I would like to bring you to Madame Pomfrey. Then, I would like to walk up to the headmaster's office to chat with him."

Potter nodded, "Ok, Professor, but I don't have any clothes." She reminded gently.

"I had your uniform cleaned a few days ago" He said pointily. "It is in the bedroom, in the drawer closest to the door."

"Professor, I don't want to put my uniform on…" The girl reacted. It feels, dirty somehow, since he you know… well… he is all over it."

"Potter, in a short week, you will be wearing your uniform again every single day. You need to be able to put it on. I'm sorry that it feels bad, but you have to wear it." He chided her lightly.

She looked him in the eyes and pouted, but Severus looked away. He needed her to be able to return to normal after the Christmas break. He could not keep housing a Gryffindor student in his chambers. She left quietly to get dressed and Severus rubbed his temples. He was not designed for this work.

When she came out, she was dressed but she appeared to be very uncomfortable. Let's go Potter, he commanded. He put his hand on her shoulder lightly. She flinched but then relaxed. He did not understand how this girl had just spent a solid five minutes hugging him, but flinched when he put his hand on her shoulder.

They made their way towards the door and exited into the potions office and then the dungeons. The school was quiet, and the girl was calm.


	13. Chapter 13

Rosie and Snape had not encountered a single person on the way up to the hospital wing. For this she was very grateful. She had not really thought about how she was going to go back to normal after Christmas break, and the thought terrified her.

For the first time in her life, she wished that she had chosen Slytherin instead of Gryffindor so that Snape could be her head of house. When they arrived, Madame Pomfrey came bustling into view with a smile on her face.

"Well hello you two, Albus warned me that you might be coming up." She smiled.

"What seems to be the problem Miss Potter?" She asked nonchalantly.

Rosie stared up at Snape with a panicked expression on her face. Surely he was expecting her to do the talking. Snape nodded down at her and turned to Madame Pomfrey.

"Miss Potter is in need of a pelvic exam, a throat exam, and a general check up today." He stated.

The mediwitch furrowed her brow. "Surely, Severus, the child is not in need of a pelvic exam." She responded, confusion evident in her voice.

"I assure you, she is." Snape said again.

"Whatever for?" Madame Pomfrey insisted.

"You will be made aware the moment that you conduct the pelvic exam as I have been saying." Her professor asserted. He was starting to sound cross now.

"Alright, alright. Yes, well then… Come along with me Potter." She reached out for Rosie to follow her, but Rosie didn't want to go alone.

"Professor?" she whimpered.

Snape sighed so loudly that she thought he might run out of air. "I will be accompanying Miss Potter, Poppy." He stated, exasperated.

"No, you most certainly will not be" She rebuffed. "I assure you Severus that it would be entirely inappropriate for you to accompany Miss Potter in her exam."

Rosie was starting to tense up, she would not go alone. She would not. Before she could stop herself, Rosie burst,

"You know what else is not appropriate Madame Pomfrey?!" She began to shout, enraged.

Bedpans flew off the beds, and a medical tray crashed to the ground. Rosie caught herself lurching forward. Before she could say anything else, Snape grabbed a hold of her from behind and pulled her back.

"Rose Potter, calm yourself this instant." He warned her.

She could hear the irritation in his voice. Madame Pomfrey was appeared startled by her outburst. Rosie was trying to control her breathing. This mediwitch had no business telling her what was appropriate and inappropriate. That line had been crossed a long time ago now. Seventeen weeks ago, to be exact.

The mediwitch did not say anything else on the subject. She must have realized that she was going to lose. They made their way over to a bed with a curtain around it.

"Rose." She said tersely. "You need to go behind the curtain and change. Do you think you can handle that by yourself?" she quipped, giving Rosie a look.

Rosie's face burned with shame.

Snape patted her shoulder and motioned for her to go change. When she had finished, she was dressed only in one of those paper-thin hospital gowns. She sat on the examining table and said that she was done. Her professor came into the room from the side and stood up by her head. Madame Pomfrey came in from the foot of the bed.

"Alright Miss. Potter, let's start with your general exam. Can I get you to take some deep breaths while I listen to your heart?" She asked as she place the cool instrument on Rosie's back.

"Good Rose, now I am going to examine your throat." The mediwitch put her hands around Rosie's throat and push pressure down.

Rosie Whimpered.

"Relax Rose." Scolded the mediwitch. She ran her wand over the area and read the results.

"It seems that you have some swelling in the esophagus Miss. Potter. We are going to give you something to bring that down. Now can you please lay back on the table for me, touch your feet together, and bring them up to you bum." She instructed, covering Rosie with a blanket.

"Severus, turn around." She added. Rosie did as she was told, but she was beginning to feel upset. Without warning, the mediwitch put her hands-on Rose's private part and pressed.

"Ah, stop!" Screeched Rosie.

She pulled her legs back up to where she was sitting. Snape, who had been facing the other way, turned around to look at her.

"Potter." He cautioned. "It is just an exam."

He sat down beside her head on a stool.

"Sit as you were told please." Rosie repositioned herself again but her heart was fluttering with nerves.

The mediwitch watched the interaction in confusion. "Could you inform Miss. Potter of your actions before you conduct them in the future?" Snape questioned.

Madame Pomfrey nodded slowly. "Alright Rose, you are going to feel a bit of pressure" She tried again.

Rosie was expecting it this time, but she did flinch and shut her eyes. "Ok, good job. Now I am just going to take my speculum, and I am going to insert it very gently. You will feel a pinch as it expands." Rosie was not okay with whatever that meant.

She could feel the cold speculum start to enter her and she cried out.

"No, don't!" She tried to turn away, but Snape held her down.

Panic surged inside of her,

"No, no, no, no, no!" she screeched trying to get out from under his arm.

"Please, no." Rose snivelled.

Madame Pomfrey was beside herself with distress.

"What is going on Severus?" She demanded as he released Rosie.

She brought her knees up to her chest, the blanket coming with her. Snape was rubbing his temples.

"Can you just conduct an external scan?" He exhaled.

"It is not as effective." She stated.

"It's fine." He replied. "Just do that. Potter, lay back down." He pleaded with her.

She laid down on the table, the blanket still covering her. Madame Pomfrey began to run her wand along her body and read lists of results. Her face was still one of distress.

"Rose, has… signs of a urinary tract infection." She stated breathlessly.

Snape nodded, "Thank you. I can treat that." And turned to Rosie.

"Get up Potter, get dressed, let's go." Rosie thought he sounded upset. As soon as she was dressed, Snape grabbed her by the shoulder and rushed her out of the hospital wing.

When they were alone in the hallway, Snape turned, and with an angry roar he punched the wall. Rosie screamed, stepped back, and covered herself. She felt that tension again, she couldn't stop herself, Rosie was going into a panic.

She felt a surge leave her body and she saw Snape go flying across the hall. He hit against the stone and tripped forward onto his knees. Snape seemed to be alright, because he got up quickly, walked over to where Rosie had sunken down onto the floor, and sat down beside her.

"Potter, I apologize for overestimating your composure. I thought that you could handle it." He admitted.

Rosie couldn't bring herself to say anything. "I'm also sorry if I scared you again. It was not my intention."

Rosie had so many thoughts running through her head, but all she could do was look up at Snape and whisper, "Why did he do this to me?"


	14. Chapter 14

Rosie had to go back to her dorm tomorrow. She had been with Snape for the entire duration of the Christmas holidays and tomorrow all her friends would be back, and she would be forced to face reality. She had to admit that she was terrified.

Snape had promised that he would keep an eye on her, and check in. Of course, they would also have a weekly lesson in occlumency. Her nerves were highest when she thought about how unrestrained she still felt. Not a day had passed that Rosie hadn't made something fall, or broken something by accident.

Her magic was still reactive to her heightened emotions and that scared her. Not to mention, she still felt deeply ashamed and embarrassed about what had happened to her. She knew that her friends would be worried sick.

They had been told that she was ill and she could not handle the idea of them finding out what had really been going on. That evening, Professor Dumbledore was supposed to come over to discuss with her how she would be integrated back into the classroom.

After the incident at the hospital wing, Snape had thought it better than Rosie just be brought back here to rest. Aside from the obvious and painful surprise that she had experienced in this past few weeks, the next greatest surprise had been Professor Snape himself.

He had turned from her most hated professor to her most trusted ally. Even though he still put up pretenses, and he refused to call her by her given name, he had been there for her in ways that she never would have expected.

Rosie knew that she had made the right decision in telling him her secret.

On her last evening with Snape, he made her dinner, and they sat on his couch chatting, something she never would have been able to picture two weeks ago.

"Do you feel ready Potter?" He asked casually.

"No professor. I am so nervous. I don't know what to say to my friends, I don't want to hurt them."

"You will manage Potter. Like it or not now, this is your life. It is your story."

"I don't want this story." She sighed.

"I know." He replied.

"You know Potter, your mother helped many people through difficulty when she was your age. She was very strong, and I am sure that you have inherited that same strength from her. I believe that you will be alright." Rosie smiled wide.

"Really professor?" she wondered. He gave her a solemn nod.

In that moment, the fire in the corner of the living room flared up and Professor Dumbledore walked through smiling softly when he noticed Snape and Rosie sitting together on the couch.

"Good evening." He greeted.

"Hi Professor Dumbledore" Rosie grinned.

"Hello Rose, what has got you so happy tonight?" He asked jovially.

"Professor Snape was just telling me about my mother." She beamed at him.

Dumbledore eyebrows shot up in surprise. He turned to give Snape a meaningful glance. Snape stared right through the old wizard, not a single trace of emotion left on his face.

"The subject may have come up." He replied curtly.

"He tells me something about her every day." Rosie confessed happily.

Suddenly she felt Snape's hand on her shoulder from behind. She had turned to face Dumbledore when he came in. She glanced back and Snape to see him glaring at her. Something about that look said,

"Shut up Potter."

"Well Severus, I am so glad to hear that you have been so open with Miss Potter, I am sure she has very much appreciated it." Dumbledore was smiling bigger than she had ever seen him smile.

"Shall we get down to business?" The headmaster asked pointedly as he came to sit on the couch opposite them.

"What business are we going to do?" Rosie asked, her voice laden with innocence.

"Well Rose, that is up to you really." Dumbledore reassured.

"Professor Snape will be taking over the position of defense teacher up top of potions teaching for the remainder of the year. Provided that you do not want to pursue any legal action against Professor Lockhart… the students will be told that he was needed somewhere else."

"Ok. What's the other option professor?"

"Well my dear, there is the option of pursuing a trial. We have very solid evidence in the form of Lockhart's own memories. He would definitely be sentenced to serve time."

"But everybody would know?" Rosie asked meekly.

"Yes, the trial would be public my dear." Rosie turned to look at Snape who wore a pained expression. "Professor? What do you think I should do?" She asked Snape.

"That is not my decision Potter." He replied curtly, but he was glaring at Dumbledore.

Rosie began to feel uncomfortable. "How public would it be?" She asked, but she directed the question at Snape, turning away from the headmaster.

"Potter, you would be asked to testify on the stand in front of the Wizengamot in front of Lockhart. Then, his memories would be played publicly, either in the trial, or individually for the members."

"Who is on the Wizengamot?" She asked.

"I am, Rose." Dumbledore replied to her.

"Yes Potter, the headmaster is on the Wizengamot, but so are a whole host of other men and women that you do not know, who will then leave that room with Lockhart's memories." Snape snapped.

"I wish he were just dead." Rosie uttered softly, still staring up at Professor Snape.

A dark expression flashed across Snape's face and Dumbledore turned his gaze to meet Snape's. His face was shrouded in warning. It felt like there was a conversation being had without her.

"I didn't mean that you have to kill him Professor Snape." She confirmed gently.

Dumbledore coughed, or laughed, when she said that. Rosie wasn't sure which it had been. Even Snape cracked a half smile. The tension in the room had become slightly less.

"I don't think I want to do the trial." Rosie admitted. Snape nodded and let out the air that he had been holding in. Dumbledore did not react, but turned to Snape again and they made eye contact.

Rosie realized in that moment how sleepy she was. She scooted closer to Snape and rested her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, Rosie felt safe and secure, her nerves for the next day were lower as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Severus' face gave him away as the girl propped herself up on his shoulder and began to drift off. He had winced. Albus noticed, obviously, and shot him a small smile.

"You don't have to be afraid of physical contact Severus. I know that your intentions are pure and Rose is clearly very comfortable with you." He reassured.

"We both know what you are capable of Severus, and I have full faith and confidence in your intentions with the girl."

"It is very clear that you no longer see only James Potter when you look at her." Albus grinned. "I for one, have always seen Lily."

"Enough Albus." Severus replied, but he did allow the girl to relax further around him.

"You think she should do the trial." He added tersely.

"I do." The headmaster admitted.

"To be honest, I am frightened for the girl. I do not know how to help her, and I am worried that if she does not get some sort of catharsis with this, that he magical outbursts will continue."

"Imagine her in a trial Albus." Severus countered.

"She can't even have an argument without breaking something, how do you think she would fair seeing his face? How do you think she would react the first time that Draco Malfoy comes along to tease her about it?"

"I do see your point Severus." Albus conceded.

"Are you confident that you will be able to take on two sets of classes and keep up with Rose?" He asked Severus gently.

"Of course, I am." He glared back.

"Good. I have already arranged for a new defense professor beginning next September."

"Who?" Severus asked. He had still been hoping to take over the position himself, but he knew that Albus would never allow it. Something about a curse. Albus just stared back at him.

"Tell me who it is." He demanded.

Albus closed his eyes. "Remus Lupin." He said.

Severus reacted forcefully. He lurched forward and put his hand on his knee. The girl stirred and whimpered. She was waking up. He tried to slow his breathing as he repositioned her so that she was more secure.

Albus had waited until this moment to tell him. He was defenseless because the girl was keeping him still.

"You are bringing a werewolf into the school to teach defense against the dark arts to children?!" Severus spat.

"Severus. You need to calm down. Remus is completely under control. It would help him immensely to keep his control if the wolfsbane potion were made available to him."

Severus' glared deepened. "I know that you will help me with this Severus." He knew that he would as well, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Albus had obviously come to tell him this today because when he was sure that Severus would help him, he got up to leave.

"I will show myself out" he smiled.

"I wouldn't want to disturb you or Rose."

Severus grimaced and nodded. When the headmaster had gone, Severus leaned back and rested his head on the arm of the couch.

Before he could spend too much time thinking about what a horrible idea Remus Lupin was, he drifted off into sleep alongside the girl.


	15. Chapter 15

When Rosie awoke, she was laying on top of her professor who was still asleep. Her cheeks burned and she was to nervous to move. She was scared that she would wake him and that he would see how they had slept. She decided to just lay there until he woke up and moved her.

Rosie could feel Snape's breathing, long and slow. He seemed to be relaxed. He did not snore. Rosie had never been this close to another person…that she could remember anyways. She closed her eyes again and rested her head back down on his chest. She hoped that he would wake up soon.

It seemed like forever before she felt Snape stir beneath her. She quickly closed her eyes and feigned sleep. She heard his groan and sigh and she could tell that he had opened his eyes because he said,

"Oh Merlin," quietly under his breath.

He too had realized their predicament. She could feel herself start to shift and she vowed to keep her eyes shut. Snape was able to maneuver her onto her side, but before he could snake his way out of their embrace, she felt herself falling.

Her first instinct was to grip onto Snape's sleeve and they both tumbled to the floor. Snape landed on top of her and she opened her eyes and yelled out,

"Eek!"

Snape's face was inches form her own, and his weight was crushing her. She felt a sudden panic at the weight on top of her and she felt something coming to a head inside of her. A memory… her mind replaced Snape's face with Lockhart's. She had mistaken his weight as her defence professor, and she could feel the panic beginning to build in her chest.

"No, get off me!" She cried and she tried to push his weight off. Something crashed in the background.

Snape was up off the floor in an instant. He helped her to stand up, and tears pricked in Rosie's eyes.

"Potter, I did not mean to …"

"I know." She breathed shakily before he could finish. "I think I remembered something that was erased…" Rose told him.

"Show me." Snape commanded, puzzled. Rosie looked up into his eyes and played the memory over in her mind. Snape nodded as he watched.

"I'm sorry Potter, but that memory is not real." Snape sighed.

"Once those memories have been taken, the only person who can return them to your is the same one who took them. I think your imagination has taken what you have seen in his memories and projected it on to yourself."

"It was my imagination?" she asked.

"You more than likely have that same memory locked away in your mind, and you're compensating for the loss by filling in the blanks." He explained gently.

"Oh." She responded.

"This does not mean that your feelings are not valid Potter. They are. You are allowed to feel those things without having the memory of it. We both know what happened to you."

"I'm sorry." She apologized to Snape.

"You haven't done anything wrong." He responded seriously.

Snape made her eat something before she got dressed in her uniform for the day. The returning students were to be expected on the incoming train within half an hour and she had promised to meet her friends in the great hall the moment that they arrived. Rosie finished her breakfast, got dressed, and did her hair pulling it back into a long ponytail.

She looked up at her professor and he motioned for her to come closer. He knelt down to face her and tilted her chin up.

"Rose Potter, you will be fine today. Keep your emotions in check and send for me if you need. Check in this evening. I am expecting you at seven o'clock sharp." He informed her sternly.

"I will professor, I promise." She said with a small smile.

"Thanks for everything." She added. With that, Rosie lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Snape's midsection in a hug. He patted her back.

"Potter, this is foolish. I'm going to see you in class twice today and this evening. Run along now." He chided, but he was smirking.

She left quickly through the door to Snape's chambers and then through the potion's office. Rosie ran up the stairs as fast as she could because she was beginning to hear sound in the great hall.

When she arrived at the ornate doors that indicated her arrival, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and entered. The great hall was buzzing with activity as usual, and as soon as Rosie came into view, her friends ran towards her.

"Rosie Potter!" Shrieked Hermione, "You have had us beside ourselves with worry all break!"

"Yeah you couldn't send any letters?" Added Ron as he embraced her.

"I'm so sorry was so sick! I just came out of the hospital wing a few days ago. I am still very weak." Rosie lied easily.

"Thank Merlin you're ok Rosie!" Hermione cheered. "Are you hungry? Breakfast would be good for you."

Rosie was not hungry, she had already eaten but she followed her friends over to the long table anyways to nibble on a bit of sausage. They were telling her excitedly about their adventures over the break. Hermione had gone skiing with her parents and Ron had stayed in, but he was happy because his family had pooled money to buy him a broom.

It was a Cleansweep 360. That was right below Rosie's nimbus. She had not felt much like flying lately. She was very happy for Ron though. As they settled into breakfast, Rosie eyes the staff table where Snape sat, and her eyes moved over to the empty spot the Lockhart had occupied previously.

Her heart fluttered nervously. Before she could think too much about it, Dumbledore stood up at the head of the hall to make an announcement.

"Welcome back everyone!" His voice boomed.

"I hope that you have all thoroughly enjoyed your holidays and that you are ready to begin the second term of classes. We have a few changes that will be taking place in this semester.

Firstly, Professor Lockhart, has chosen to pursue other interests this term and has left his post as Defence Professor." Dumbledore relayed calmly. Some students cheered, some students booed. Ron turned to Rosie and Hermione and mouthed,

"Thank Merlin!"

"On that note…" The headmaster continued. "For the time being until September, Professor Snape will be filling the post along with regular potions classes." He added.

There was a collective silence that fell across the hall. Rosie knew that everybody wanted to boo him but they were scared to. Hermione let out a sigh, and Ron looked frustrated.

"Well, that ruins defence class then." He stated.

Rosie said nothing. She just nibbled on her sausage. From the staff table, she could feel Snape's eyes burning into her skull before she even looked up. He was obviously trying to gauge her emotional state. Rosie thought that she was doing fine right now.

"Snape is staring at you." Ron whispered to Rosie.

"He is probably just thinking that I am not ready to be in classes yet." She replied.

"What do you mean?" Asked Hermione, confused.

"He kind of took care of me while I was sick over the holidays." Rosie responded.

"What?" She heard both of her friends gasp collectively.

"Yeah, he made sure that I was alright and checked in on me everyday." She added to sound more convincing. "I think Dumbledore forced him to, but he wasn't so mean to me."

Her friends gave her incredulous looks but continued on with their breakfast.

"So, what did you have anyways?" Hermione wondered.

Before Rosie was forced to lie again, everyone decided to get up at that exact moment to head to their first classes. In the hustle and bustle Hermione forgot to grill Rosie for answers and they headed towards their first class of the day, which was potions. Rosie did not know what she had been expecting from class with Snape after the holidays but she realized quickly that it was not going to change much.

He did not call on her at all during the class, probably because he was nervous that she would explode into a magical disaster, but he did keep his eyes trained on her for the classes' entirety. Rosie was not the only one that noticed the staring. Hermione gave her a funny look each time that she caught his eyes lingering.

Hermione most likely thought that Snape was being creepy, but Rosie didn't know what she would do if he wasn't watching over her. She was nervous that if he left, she would lose control, or accidently break something.

She knew that Snape understood this as well because he followed them to the door when class had ended and watched silently as they walked up the stairs.


	16. Chapter 16

Transfigurations class was the first time that Rosie had practiced voluntary magic since finding out what had happened to her. Her wand felt foreign in her hand and she did not feel the same feelings of control that she that she had felt before. Their object was to turn a feather into a bird, and Rosie had set the feather on fire three times.

The fourth time, the feather had stayed the same, but she had broken a vase on McGonagall's desk. Nobody had realized that it was her, but she knew. Hermione kept shooting her concerned glances because Rosie was usually pretty spot on with her magic, she knew her friend was already starting to see through her. Even Neville had managed the transfiguration.

When McGonagall came around to inspect their work, Hermione did the spell under her breath so that Rosie did not have to show her professor an unfinished job.

"Thank you!" Rosie whispered, embarrassed. Hermione just stared at her. "What is going on Rose?" She shot back.

On the way to defense, Hermione grilled her again. "Rosie, what were you sick with?" She asked again. "Dragon flu." She replied cautiously.

"Oh ok, do you think that it depleted your magic a bit?" Her friend questioned. "I've read that long-term sickness can do that."

Rosie nodded, "Yeah that makes sense!" She replied hoping to quell the topic.

During defense class, they were supposed to pair up and practice shield charms, but Snape claimed her to be his partner much to the surprise of her classmates. He had brought her over to the corner of the class ad practiced with her while the rest of her peers practiced with each other.

Rosie was thankful for this because her shield charm was perfect, but along with the shield came other effects. At one point, her shield charm turned into a shield and disarming charm, which knocked Snape back a few feet much to her chagrin. She was beginning to grow really frustrated and her professor could see it. He chose this moment to end the class and began to lecture again on the different types of shield charms. Rosie felt like such a burden.

Her professor seemed to be doing everything for her sake today, and her friends were very put off by it.

"Rosie it's really weird to see Snape being nice to you." Ron blurted out after the class had finished.

"I know, it was pretty uncomfortable at first, but I'm getting more used to it." She responded smoothly.

"Well, I'm not used to it." He threw back.

That evening, when it was time for Rosie to check in with Snape she headed down to the dungeons in high spirits. She felt that today had gone pretty well even though she was still performing terribly in class, she had not injured anybody today. She had not been injured, so Rosie considered that a success.

As she turned to corner that would lead her toward the Slytherin common room, she froze. There, in front of her by the stairs was Collin Creevey, a first year Gryffindor. He was lying face up on the floor stiff as a board, his camera in hand in front of his cold expression. Above Collin was the icy shadow of Nearly-Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. He was suspended in the air, his head hanging low, his face expressionless.

Rosie wanted to scream, but she could not produce any sound. She was close to Snape's office, so she crept by the petrified people and ran towards safety. Rosie did not stop to knock as she entered her professor's familiar space. He looked up casually from the desk.

"Good evening Potter." Snape greeted.

"Professor, you have to come, something's happened!" She relayed panicked.

Snape was up in an instant, "What happened?" He barked as he moved towards the door.

She realized that he probably thought that she had done something. Rosie pulled him towards the hallway where she had found the boy and the ghost. When Professor Snape laid eyes on the sight, her breathed a small sigh of relief. His relief quickly turned to cool control.

"Alright Potter, can you please go and fetch Professor Dumbledore in his office." Snape directed.

"Quickly." He added.

Rosie took off running toward the Headmaster's office. When she arrived, Rosie blurted out the last password that she remembered and the gargoyle opened smoothly. Arriving at the door to Dumbledore's office, Rosie realized that it was already open.

She could hear voices from inside. She moved to enter the room and could feel all eyes on herself. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall turned to face her, surprised.

"Hello Rose." Started the Headmaster.

"Professor Snape sent me." Rosie uttered breathlessly. "There are more petrified people in the dungeons."

She had never seen her professors move so fast.

"Come here Potter." McGonagall motioned for her to come forward. She grasped onto Rosie arm and pulled her towards the fire.

They stepped into the green flames together followed by Dumbledore and she said clearly, "Potion's office."

They arrived in an instant and quickly joined Snape where he was kneeling on the ground examining her classmate's body. "What are we looking at Severus?" Dumbledore questioned promptly.

"Petrified." Snape replied. "Just like the cat."

"And the ghost?" Asked McGonagall. "Also petrified." Though I have never seen something like this in a ghost."

The headmaster moved the boy and the ghost up to the hospital wing, and Snape brought Rosie into his office. "Potter, I am sorry your day had to end that way." He apologized solemnly.

"Will they be alright Professor? And Mrs. Norris?"

"They will. We are working on a potion to bring them back, but we must wait until the mandrakes mature before we can continue." He explained.

"Who do you think is doing this?"

"Never you mind that Potter. Tell me, how did your first day back go?"

"It was ok Professor. I still can't really perform magic without doing something unexpected. I kept setting things on fire in transfigurations."

"Did you have any emotional outbursts?"

"No, I didn't, but I didn't really feel any strong emotions either. I think my friends are bothered."

"Granger and Weasley? Why?"

"Well…" She started. "We all kind of hated you, and then you started acting nice with me out of the blue. They are just confused."

"Would you rather that I was hard on you again?" He asked seriously. Rosie shook her head. "No professor." She giggled a little. "They will adjust."

Rosie chatted for a while with the professor until it was time for curfew.

"Alright Potter, it is late, go back to your dormitory and sleep. I will see you tomorrow." He smirked slightly.

Rosie did as she was asked, but as she was walking back towards the common room, she heard a voice. It was a voice that she had thought was just a product of her exhaustion before the holidays…

"rip… tear… kill… blood." She shivered, looking around in all directions, but she saw nothing.

Rosie quickened her pace until she was almost jogging towards the safety of her dormitory. She was beginning to feel less and less safe at Hogwarts as time progressed.

When she entered the common room through the portrait, it was empty. Almost. She caught sight of a small figure in the corner of the room. She could tell immediately that the figure was Ginny Weasley because even wet and matted as it was, her hair was vibrantly red.

It looked like she was shaking. As Rosie approached, her stomach curled. The girl was crying softly.

"Ginny?" She asked tentatively. "What's wrong? Are you alright?" The girl looked up at her and wiped her face on her sleeve trying to eliminate her tears.

"Rose." She whispered meekly. Something about the girl's expression felt uncomfortably familiar. "Ginny, what's wrong, you can tell me." She said as she knelt down in front of her.

"I don't know!" she cried. "What do you mean? What happened? Why are you crying Ginny?" The girl looked her in the eyes, her face was contorted in panic.

"I think something is happening to me." She said. Rosie's heart stopped. It was just a few weeks ago that Rosie herself had said that exact line to her professor. What if Lockhart had done this to more than just her? She could barely bring herself to speak.

"What do you mean?" she asked the girl in a barely audible whisper.

"I can't remember anything or anywhere that I've been. Sometimes I wake up covered in blood. I can't remember parts of my day. I feel like something bad is happening. I was fine again over the holidays but it's already started again" She confessed tearfully.

Rosie felt numb. She wanted to vomit. Her whole body was frozen in a state of shock.

"Oh Ginny." She hugged the girl. They sat on the floor embracing in silence as Ginny shook.

"I know what to do." Rosie confessed finally.

"Wait here." She commanded as she dashed up the stairs.

She pulled her invisibility cloak out from her trunk as quietly as possible so as not wake her sleeping roommates. As she descended the stairs again, Rosie's stomach burned with nerves. She felt like this nightmare was never-ending. She helping Ginny off the floor and wrapped her arm around the girl's waist.

"C'mon Ginny, we're gonna find out what's been happening to you."

Rosie tossed the cloak over the both of them and she began to lead her friend down towards the dungeons.

"Where are we going?" Ginny asked shyly.

"We are going to tell Professor Snape." Rosie could almost feel Ginny recoil. "No!" We can't Rose!"

Rosie looked Ginny in the eyes and said "Trust me. He can help." She shivered as they passed the spot where just a few hours before, Collin Creevey had been petrified. As Rosie led Ginny down into the dungeons it was with the utmost faith that Professor Snape would be able to help them.

This time she was not nervous as she knocked on the office door. There was however, no answer.

"Rose he's probably asleep." Ginny whispered.

"It's ok Ginny, don't worry." Rosie said as she pushed the door open anyways.

She led the girl through the office and to the door of Snape's chambers knocking loudly. "Professor Snape!" she shouted lightly in the silence. They did not have to wait long before the door opened to reveal Professor Snape towering over them.

"Miss Potter, I thought I said to go back to your common room…" He started, and then he noticed Ginny. "Potter? Is everything alright?" He asked.

Severus stared at the two children that stood before him. Potter had brought the Weasley girl along with her to his chambers in the middle of the night.

"Potter, what is going on?" He asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Professor, something is happening to Ginny and it sounds like what happened to me." The girl blurted out all in one breathe.

Weasley turned her head to Potter her eyes full of surprise.

His heart sank.

They had been sure that Potter had been the only victim. He quickly composed himself and motioned for the girls to have a seat at his desk. He closed the door to his quarters and sat in the chair opposite them.

Severus stared at the Potter girl expectantly. He was growing more concerned as the seconds dragged on.

"Would you rather just show me?" He asked, his voice dripping with impatience.

The girl reacted to his words and shook her head.

"No, sorry professor."

"It's alright Potter, now can you start from the beginning?" He waited for her to speak, but she looked first at Weasley and then back at him.

"Something weird has been happening to me since I started here at Hogwarts professor and Rosie thought that you would know what to do." Ginny Weasley piped up from beside Potter, her voice was shaky.

"Go on." He urged.

"I can't remember anything. I have been waking up in strange places and strange times, and sometimes I wake up covered in blood, or dirt. I have been so tired."

Severus cringed. This sounded too familiar. "Miss Weasley, when was the last incident of this memory loss?"

"Tonight." She whispered.

Severus could see that Potter hadn't been expecting that response. Neither had Severus. Now Severus was beginning to suspect something dark. He was almost certain that there could not be two perverted professors using the same tactics in the same year. Since Lockhart was gone, Severus began to wrack his brain for other options.

"Do you mind showing me what has been going on Miss Weasley?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

Potter leaned over and whispered something in the younger girl's ear. Weasley cringed and shot her a look. Potter held her gaze as if to say 'just do it.' With that, the Weasley girl stood up and moved closer to Severus looking his square in the eyes.

 _The Weasley girl staring down at the blood on her hands. The child missing charms class and waking up in a girl's loo. The girl that night waking up in the Gryffindor common room with no recollection of events._

Suddenly Severus' brain put the pieces together. Ginny Weasley had been the one opening up the Chamber of Secrets.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N- Hello again! I just want to apologize for jumping straight into the end of CoS without the epic basilisk battle. I think one monster is enough for Rosie this year. I promise that in both PoA and GoF things with unfold as in canon in regards to the structure of the story. I am selfishly eager to move past this year and onto the next. Thanks for reading! – Meg**

Rosie stood in between professors Dumbledore and Snape as she watched Ginny's parents fawning and fussing over her. She felt a twinge of jealously. Ginny Weasley had been possessed by Voldemort for just a bit longer than Rosie had been hurt by Lockhart. She felt a certain comradery with the girl.

They had both survived beneath the control of someone more powerful than themselves for far too long. Although Rosie felt for the girl, she was happy to have someone who could sort of understand. Even though Voldemort didn't do the same things to Ginny that Lockhart did to Rosie, she felt closer to her already. Despite her growing fondness for the youngest Weasley, in that moment, she was overcome with spite and envy.

She longed for a mother to worry about her as deeply as Mrs. Weasley did for Ginny. Rosie would do anything to have her mother here with her right now. Maybe it was her rigid posture, or maybe it was the look in her eyes, but Snape sensed Rosie's discomfort and touched her shoulder lightly.

"Come Potter. I want to show you something."

She followed the potions professor up the stairs and into the Headmaster's office. The pensive lay exposed on Dumbledore's desk. Slowly, and with the utmost care, Snape placed his wand at his temple, and drew out a silvery liquid and placed it into the basin. Rosie stared up at him in confusion. "Follow me in." He directed easily.

As Rosie entered the pensive behind her professor, she could not have prepared herself for what was to come.

 _Snape stood in a small cemetery on a snowy street facing north. His gaze was unwavering and solemn as usual but he was much younger. His face had fewer lines and his posture was less refined, less confident. Rosie could see a figure approaching swiftly, weaving in and out of the houses and towards the graveyard. It was a woman. Actually, it was the same woman from Snape's mind._

 _This must be her mother. Upon that realization, Rosie noticed with shock another detail that her mind had left out. In the arms of the woman was a baby. The baby was bundled up in a soft blue snow suit and the woman, her mother, held the baby, Rosie, tightly to her chest. Rosie could only see a tuft of her own hair and a rosy cheek._

" _Severus, you can't be here!" Her mother whispered hurriedly. "If James knew that I had spoken to you he'd be furious!"_

" _Lily. I needed to see you, just one last time." Her professor sighed._

" _Oh Sev, it's over. We can't do this anymore, we are not friends. This isn't a game like it used to be. You have chosen your side and I've chosen mine. I have too much to lose." Her mother said as she pressed her lips against Rosie's small baby head._

" _Lily, I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to come back onto you." Snape exhaled softly._

" _Severus. Please. I will never forget all that you've taught me, but you can't come around anymore. I can't put my family at risk." Her mother's face looked pained. Snape nodded sadly._

" _Alright Lily." He replied. As her professor turned to leave, he looked back and Rosie and her mother and asked, "What is her name?"_

" _Rose. Rose Potter. She is the most amazing gift that I have ever been given."_

 _Rosie's mother replied earnestly. Her mother once again picked her up and kissed her small red cheeks. Rosie could see that a few tears had escaped and were rolling down her mother's face._

" _Goodbye Severus. I will always have hope for you."_

With that, the memory finished. Rosie was once again standing in the Headmaster's office. Snape stood across from her. She hadn't noticed, but tears had begun to roll down her face. Her professor's face was solemn but even.

"That was the first and only time I ever saw your mother with you Potter." He informed her softly.

"This was only weeks before… she went into hiding with you." He added.

In that moment, Rosie did not care about the conversation between her mother and Snape. She now forever had a memory of her mother's kiss. She could now always imagine the love that her mother felt for her. Rosie had never felt so much love and joy in her entire life. She could hear an object fly across the room and Snape moved forward to stare at her.

"Potter, control your emotions." He commanded.

"I didn't know that I needed that professor. Thank you." She whispered breathlessly.

"You're welcome Potter." He sighed.

The rest of Rosie's second year went as smoothly as it could possibly have gone considering the circumstances. Her magical outbursts continued, but she was able to, for the most part, regain control of her voluntary wand magic.

Luckily, she made it to the end of the term without injuring anybody. She thought that maybe that was because she had not been feeling much for strong emotion lately. Honestly, she hadn't been feeling much of anything. Rosie returned to her routine, but she was still not herself. She had been distant from Ron and Hermione, who had been spending more and more time together alone.

Rosie had been spending most days with Ginny. She hadn't told Ginny what had happened to her, but the Weasley girl knew that whatever it was, it was bad. They took comfort in each other's presence. She had Ginny and Professor Snape to thank for her success in regaining her classroom abilities.

They had both been practicing with her a lot. Weekly occlumency lessons with Snape had been successful. She was now able to shut off her emotions most of the time. The problem with this, according to Professor Snape, was that Rosie was shutting off her emotions all the time, not just when necessary. It was for this reason that he had decided to stop the lessons altogether in her last few weeks at Hogwarts.

In the last week of term, the familiar dread of returning to the Dursleys was beginning to set it. No matter how much she tried to suppress or quell the anxiety, it resurfaced every time. It got the point that anxiety was the only thing that Rosie felt.

On the Friday before they were to be sent home, Snape came to collect her for a meeting with the headmaster. He watched her carefully and she knew that he could feel her shift in mood over the past week. When they were together with the Headmaster, Rosie was shocked to find out that she would not in fact be spending the summer with the Dursleys.

"My dear girl. I am afraid you have suffered greatly this year, and I don't want to cause you any more turmoil by sending you back to stay with your relatives."

Rosie sighed with relief. "Where will I go?" She asked Dumbledore politely.

"I have arranged for you to stay with the Weasleys for the duration of the summer. Next summer we will find you a more permanent arrangement."

Rosie smiled. She felt a twinge of hope. It was brief, but it was there.

End of Year Two.


	18. Chapter 18

Rosie Potter was enjoying her summer. She had been staying with the Weasleys now for almost a month and a half, and she was beginning to acclimatize to her new environment.

June had begun rough.

She had been having difficulties expressing appropriate levels of her emotions. Whenever she would express too much, she would do accidental magic. In the process of occluding her mind and masking her emotions, Rosie lost them entirely.

Now, she was hovering above a shaky middle ground where her magical outbursts had depleted significantly and she was able to enjoy her time with friends. Nobody aside from Snape and Dumbledore were aware what had happened to her, but Rosie knew that the Weasleys had their suspicions.

The memories of Lockhart were always in the back of her mind, but she was at a point where she was able to maintain them back there. They were not resurfacing as often.

Rosie had spent the majority of the summer with Ginny. The girls shared a room, they shared clothes, and they shared secrets. She learned that Ginny still felt guilty for what had happened with Voldemort even after the student, cat, and ghost had been un-petrified. The two learned to cover for each other.

When one was having a bad day, the other would make up for it. Rosie had also been spending a great deal of time with Ron. While he wasn't always keen on spending time with his baby sister, he could often be found hovering outside their door bored without them.

While Snape had not followed through on his promise of more occlumency lessons due to Rosie's emotional repression, he did visit weekly. They usually took leisurely strolls on the paths outside the burrow.

Sometimes they talked and sometimes they enjoyed the silence. He would occasionally tell her stories about her mother. Rosie had grown rather fond of her potion's professor. She was also certain that he too had become fond of her. It would be strange of him to visit so often if he were not.

The other week, he had even called her by her first name for the entire duration of their visit. Her professor never mentioned Lockhart by name, but he did ask her every week specifically about her recovery. He would tease her if she mentioned the childish shenanigans that her and the other Weasley children would get up to, but she could see that it made him breathe a sigh of relief each week.

While Rosie was starting to feel content, there was still a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that this was not over yet. She got this impression occasionally when she would hear a phrase, smell something familiar, or even for no particular reason.

When this happened, it was as if there existed an attempted to jog a memory that had been taken from her. She would usually get a stomach-ache or begin to feel uncomfortable in these moments.

That particular morning, the Weasley family and Rosie were going to travel to diagon alley to buy their school supplies. Hermione was meeting them for lunch and then returning to the burrow for the last week of summer.

Rosie was going to meet with Snape after lunch to discuss something important and then he would be taking her back to the Weasley's in the evening. As they were eating breakfast, Ron turned to Rosie,

"Ey Rose, what d'you think Snape wants'ta tell you today? He asked, his mouth full of food.

"Erm, maybe he's finally gonna tell me who my new guardian will be." Rosie suggested, unsure.

"I think it will be Snape himself." Ginny said matter of factly. Fred spit out his pumpkin juice. "Snape?" he and George burst out laughing. "That slimy git couldn't take care of a flobberworm." he added still amused.

"I don't think it will be Professor Snape." Chuckled Rosie. "If it were going to take me in, he would have done it this summer."

"I'll never understand what you see in him Rosie." Ron shook his head. "He was such a git to you and now you act like it never happened."

"He's changed Ron, I told you that."

"Are you sure you don't have him under some sort of mind control potion Rosie?" Fred questioned.

"No!" Rosie growled back.

"Now now children…" Molly Weasley hastened. "I think what Fred means is that nobody has ever seen Professor Snape act the way he does with you, with any other person."

"Yeah he basically does anything you ask him to." Added Ron.

"Wait…" George started. "Do you and Snape have a _thing_?" He smiled insidiously. "That's why you spend so much time walking around on secluded pathways…"

"George! Shut up!" Ginny barked at her brother. Rosie's face burned. "We do NOT!" She huffed. She was beginning to feel frustrated.

"Sweet innocent Rosie Potter and the angry brooding potions professor… she warms his frigid heart." Fred whispered dreamily.

Rosie's eyes burned with tears.

"Stop!" She shouted.

She was NOT in love with her professor. This was hitting to close to home. Snape didn't think of her like that, he promised. The twins realized that they had gone to far when several jars spontaneously combusted in the kitchen.

"Boys! That is enough. Rose's relationship with Professor Snape is nobody's business but her own." Arthur chided.

"I'm sorry Rose, my children are obviously missing their manners today."

Luckily, Ginny stepped in to rescue Rosie from the uncomfortable situation.

"Let's go get ready to go Rosie!" She changed the subject; her smile was falsely cheerful.

When the two girls reached Ginny's bedroom, she turned to Rosie and said, "I'm sorry Rosie, I don't think they meant to make you so upset."

"I know." She replied quietly. "Let's get dressed." Ginny added, rubbing Rosie's arm in support.

The first stop once they reached diagon alley was Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Molly Weasley had been holding her vault key for the summer and handed it to Rosie with a smile.

"Are you ok to go in by yourself?" She asked kindly.

Rosie wanted to go in alone, she knew that her parents had left her more money than she would ever need, she also knew that the Weasleys had money trouble and she did not want to make anyone feel inadequate.

"I'll be fine Mrs. Weasley, thank you." She replied softly.

She was still thinking about the conversation at the breakfast table, her stomach in knots. Did Snape really act that strange around her? What did that mean?

Rosie entered her vault quickly and withdrew a few handfuls of gold, shoving them into her change purse, which was charmed to remain weightless. She tucked her hair behind her ear, composed herself and left the vault to return to the Weasley family. The morning passed quickly.

They stopped to pick up their required school books for their respective years. Rosie bought a new pair of quidditch gloves, she was hoping to play again this year. After that, she and Ginny accompanied Ron to buy a new cauldron because his had exploded the previous year. When everything was bought that needed to be bought, Rosie motioned for Ginny to show her what she had in her basket.

She ruffled through her friend's books making sure that only the ones she had purchased were there. Ginny looked over at her and grimaced, but then smiled a little in appreciation. The Weasley's spent all summer pretending that what happened to Ginny had all been a nightmare, but Rosie knew that Ginny needed someone to acknowledge it.

When it was time for lunch, Rosie accompanied the Weasley's to the restaurant just in time to welcome Hermione back. Hermione went straight for Ron and then when she was finished squeezing the life out of him, she turned to Rosie and embraced her meaningfully. Just as they were settling in, Snape appeared in the entrance way.

That was Rosie's cue to leave and she waved goodbye to her friends. Her stomach was in knots all of a sudden.

"Hi Professor." She greeted.

"Hello Rose." He smirked. He put his hand on her shoulder as a guide, but Rosie flinched. She could feel Snape's hand tense and then move off of her. He led her to a smaller food stand and ordered her a small kidney pie with a pumpkin pasty for after.

Her professor obviously had a more realistic idea of her eating capabilities than Mrs. Weasley did. As they sat down at a picnic table near to the stand, Snape turned to her,

"Have you had an outburst?" He asked evenly. Rosie's heart jumped into her chest. She was such an idiot. This was so predictable. Cringing, she nodded at Snape.

"What happened Rose?" He asked softly. His eyebrows shot up as Rosie's cheeks burned red.

"Just the Weasley twins…" She started. "They were bugging me at breakfast and I overreacted." Her whole face had flushed now, a detail that did not go unnoticed by her Professor.

"Go on." He nodded.

"Well… it was about you." Rosie confessed meekly. Snape's brows furrowed. "They said that because you are nice to me and nobody else that we must be doing something... you know, bad." She blurted out all at once, her eyes stinging.

Her professor's face was unreadable. "What do you think about that?" He prompted, his voice smooth.

"I just feel so embarrassed because I don't want people to think that I would do that with my professor, and I already did once…" She replied, close to tears.

"I don't want anyone to think that you are like him either… I don't want you to get in trouble professor."

"Rose. Do you trust me?" Snape asked seriously. She nodded.

"You have done nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. You did not do anything with any of your professors. Everything that has happened was done to you. Do you understand that?"

"I guess so." She said quietly.

"Rose do you feel that I have overstepped as your professor?" He asked, his face was sombre and focussed.

"Does anything that I do, make you uncomfortable?"

"Well, I guess you don't feel like just my professor anymore… not really anyways… but I don't want us to do anything inappropriate. I just want things to stay like they are. I'm not uncomfortable." Rosie could feel a few tears trickle down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away.

"Rose." He said her name clearly so that she would focus on him.

"You and I will never engage in any inappropriate behavior. I am an adult and as such, it is my duty to protect you. I will not do anything bad to you, and I would not expect anything like that from you in return."

"Lockhart is an adult too." Rosie replied.

Her throat caught. Snape sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "I know child, but you will have to trust me on this one. Can you do that?"

Rosie nodded. She wanted to change the subject now. "Professor, why did you ask me here today?" She asked, trying to lighten up her voice.

Snape cleared this throat and looked at her again. "Have you heard news of an escaped prisoner by the name of _Sirius Black_?" He spat out the name like poison.

Rosie had seen that name printed across copies of the Daily Prophet all summer, of course she knew. He was a murderer that escaped the wizard prison Azkaban.

"Yes professor." She replied.

"Alright." He noted. It has come to the Headmaster's attention that Black might be looking for you Rose. You see, he was a supporter of The Dark Lord in his day."

"The Dark Lord?" Rosie asked, confused.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named?" Snape tried again.

"Sirius Black was a supporter of Voldemort and now he is coming after me?" She repeated incredulously.

"Don't say his name." Snape cringed. "But yes. We will be placing extra protection at Hogwarts this year, and I need your word that you will not go looking for trouble. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." She replied earnestly. Rosie could not understand why she would go after somebody that wanted to hurt her.

"See that you do not. Any sign of abnormality, you report it to me or the Headmaster." She could tell that it was not a request.

"Of course, sir." Rosie promised, puzzled.

"Good. Now finish your meal." He commanded and she could see that his mouth was upturned in a slight smirk once again.


	19. Chapter 19

After lunch with Snape, Rosie thought he would take her back to the burrow, but he did not. Instead, he led her towards a small and dingy alley off the path from the regular shops. He kept his hand on her back so that she knew where to go, but he did not explain their direction.

Finally, they arrived at a run-down shop on the corner of one of the many hidden back streets. There was a sign, but Rosie could not make out the letters.

"Professor? What are we doing here?" She asked.

He gave her a strange look and said,

"I thought this year I might get you a birthday present." awkwardly.

Rosie had almost forgotten that she had turned thirteen over the holidays. The Weasleys had made a nice meal with dessert and Molly had made her a Weasley Jumper. She had not been expecting Snape to even remember let alone buy her a present. Rosie smiled,

"Thanks professor!" she said sweetly.

Her professor grimaced and motioned for her to go inside. The shop keeper was an elderly man with bland dress robes that were obviously very worn. His hair was grey and it stuck out in all directions. When Rosie and Snape walked in, the man became very nervous.

"Seevveruss… Hello." He greeted, stuttering.

Rosie looked up at her professor and she wondered why the older man was so frightened of him.

"Do you have what I asked of you?" Snape responded curtly without a greeting.

He was not using his threatening teacher voice, it was actually more menacing than that. The salesman reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small blue box. He handed it to Snape with an outstretched and shaky hand. Her professor nodded toward the man who turned away and went to the other side of the shop.

"You may open it when you arrive at the burrow." He directed calmly.

"Thank you." Rosie responded, her voice even, but her mind was working overtime trying to figure out what it could be.

From the shop, Snape brought her to a series of wizard clothing stores where he had her pick out a few new pairs of robes, clothes, pajamas, and other necessities. When she asked why he was taking her shopping, he responded that in the interim until she was placed with a responsible guardian, it was his job to make sure that she had all the things that she needed.

"Sir, do you know who my new guardian will be?" She asked at one point.

"I do not." He replied casually, "but you will not be placed with anyone until next summer at the earliest, and you will not move in with anyone that you are not comfortable with." He assured.

That was enough to quell Rosie's current concerns, and she began to relax a bit. When it was time to head back to the burrow, Snape informed her that he would be apparating and she would come as a side along.

She felt nervous, she had never apparated before, and she had heard horror stories of side alongs being splinched in the process. He instructed her to hold onto his arms tightly, which Rosie did, and then she squeezed her eyes shut. It felt as though she was being pulled through a small tube.

She couldn't even feel Snape beside her, but it only lasted a moment. They arrived at the burrow with all body parts in tact. The sun was just beginning to set. Rosie had enjoyed her day out, but she was eager to run upstairs and open the birthday present that her professor had given her with Ginny. She was now burning with curiosity. She waved goodbye to Snape and he apparated away, waiting until she was safely inside the burrow.

Everyone turned to greet Rosie when she arrived, but she made a beeline straight over to Ginny and pulled her upstairs into her shared bedroom.

"What's wrong are you ok?" Ginny worried as she turned to face her.

"Yes, I'm fine, but Snape got me a gift and I wanted to open it with you. I didn't want anyone else to see…" Ginny nodded in agreement. "Open it!" She squealed. Taking the small blue box out of her robe pocket, Rosie lifted the lid. Her mouth fell open. Ginny's shrieked again,

"That is so beautiful!" She cried.

Inside the box lay a delicate silver locket. It had a detailed trim around the edges, and a slim chain. In the centre of the locket were the initials RLP, her initials. She took it out of the box. This seemed strange, it was indeed very pretty, but Rosie figured there must be more to it. Snape would not give her a piece of jewelry for no reason. She lifted the locket carefully and pried open the tiny clasp. Her hand came up to cover her mouth.

"Oh." She breathed. "Ginny look."

Inside the oval pendant was a picture of a young red-haired woman with Rosie's eyes. She was holding baby Rosie who was wearing the same blue snowsuit that she had seen in Snape's memory.

The picture was a magical one, and her mother lifted Rosie to kiss her cheeks just as she had in the memory. This was incredible. Her professor had taken his own memory and turned it into a photograph. Her cheeks were wet with tears. Ginny was staring at her.

"Is that your mother Rosie?" She asked, shocked.

"Yes, it is." She replied, still a bit starstruck.

"How did he…?" Ginny trailed off.

"He used to know her." Rosie finished.

"They were friends in school." Ginny nodded in appreciation.

"I can't even imagine Snape at our age." Her friend mused.

"Honestly, me neither." She giggled.

Ginny helped her to put the locket on and Rosie swore that she would never take it off. She had felt closer to her mother this year than she had ever felt before. The rest of the evening was pleasant.

She played wizards chess with Ron, and exploding snap with Ginny and the Twins who had apologized for upsetting her earlier. Hermione had been reading the textbooks in preparation for class, but Ron had convinced her to play a game of chess with him. Rosie was sure that there was something going on between those two.

On the last evening before they were to catch the train the next day, Rosie was in the bathroom about the take a shower when she noticed that her white underwear was stained with bright red blood.

Her cheeks burned. This time she was sure that this was her period. She did not feel the same pain as she had last year, instead all day she had felt a shooting pain in her abdomen. This made sense now. Rosie snuck downstairs to find Mrs. Weasley. The matriarch was sitting in the dining room with her husband. Rosie entered the room cautiously.

"Mrs. Weasley?" She whispered, announcing her presence.

The woman smiled and looked up at her. "Hello Rose, can I help you with something?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Rosie asked. "In private?"

"Of course, dear!" She said, surprised. She followed Rosie into the hallway and her face flushed.

"Umm, Mrs. Weasley, I think I got my… you know… my period. I don't know what witches are supposed to do about that."

The woman's eyes widened and then she smiled. "Ah, don't worry Rose we'll get you all fixed up." She proceeded to show Rosie how to do the charm to clean her underwear and introduced her to the world of being a grown-up witch.

That night, Rosie slept peacefully. She was looking forward to starting her third year at Hogwarts. She rubbed the locket around her neck and sighed. Things seemed to be looking up, at least for now.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N- Chapter contains semi-graphic depictions of sexual abuse and rape.**

Rosie still had her period the next day when she awoke. They were all up early so that they would be late getting on the train. Rosie was feeling in control. She put on her school robes, the locket from Snape was proudly on display around her neck. She wore her hair up in a high ponytail. Molly Weasley had given her a mild pain potion, and she made a note to ask her potions professor for more later on. Rosie never wore her uniform tie anymore.

Snape had been the only professor who had cared, and even he had not mentioned it at all in the last half of the previous year. Hermione had taken to styling her hair differently over the summer. She usually wore it up, which made her look more mature. She had spent most of her time with Ron, but, when she did gossip with Rosie and Ginny, she had admitted to wanting to impress the redheaded boy.

By the time they reached King's Cross, everyone was very tired. Rosie and Ginny quickly found a compartment on the train while Ron and Hermione went to find snacks. Even thought they had woken up early, there seemed to be an excess of students this year and the only compartment that they could find already had somebody in it.

Rosie could tell that it was a man, but his face was covered by a ratty, brown coat. He was obviously sleeping. An old briefcase beside the man read "Property of RJ Lupin."

Rosie settled in, rest her head on Ginny's shoulder and closing her eyes. Her friend was reading form a magazine.

"Did you know that muggles use a dangerous machine to cut the grass around their houses Rosie?" She asked offhandedly.

Rosie looked at the magazine that Ginny was reading and saw "Muggle Digest" written on the front. Like father like daughter.

"Yeah, I've used one." Rosie confessed.

She had done her fair share of lawn mowing for the Dursleys. She wondered if they knew what had become of her.

"Really?" Ginny asked, excited. "Was it dreadful?"

"Yes, it was pretty terrible." She giggled.

Just then, Ron and Hermione returned, their arms full of treats from the trolley.

"Eh Rosie do you want a licorice whip?" Ron asked as he tossed it over to her.

Something strange happened when they entered the compartment. Ron's rat, Stabbers, started going mad. He was squeaking and squirming. It looked as though he was trying to escape.

"Bloody hell Scabbers! This rat is right menace!" He shouted, annoyed.

Rosie helped Ron to get him safely back into his cage. When he was tucked away, Ron turned to the group and asked in a whispered tone, "Who do you think this guy is anyway?"

"Ron, we shouldn't speak about him. He might be a professor." Hermione chided.

"I reckon he is the new defense professor." Ginny chimed in. "Did Snape tell you anything about defense this year?" Ron asked Rosie.

"No, he doesn't like to talk about Hogwarts business."

"What do you even talk about with him then?" Asked Ron, confused. Rosie shrugged. "Lots of stuff Ron."

"Well I'm just glad that he is back to just teaching potions, greasy git."

"Ron!" Ginny reproached, "don't be rude about Snape."

"Well you have to admit he's an arse to everyone except Rose." He muttered.

"Ron we all know that but you don't have to talk about it so much." Hermione scolded him.

"Don't listen to him Rosie I think Snape is just fine." Ginny interjected.

"It's fine guys, I'm not going to blow anything up." Rosie laughed, her hands up in surrender.

"Rosie, I never asked you what option classes you're taking this year!" Hermione changed the topic.

"Oh! Well I thought I'd take Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy. I was always good at maths in muggle school."

"Oh, so was I! I loved Maths!" Hermione enthused. "I couldn't decide what to take so I am taking them all!" She added.

"How on earth are you going to manage that?" Rosie asked. Don't they all happen in the same time slots?"

"Yes, but I've fixed it with Professor Dumbledore!"

"You're mad Mione." Ron teased.

For the rest of the journey, the four bantered back and forth. Ron's rat would not let up. He gnawed a hole through the bars of his cage so they had to spello-tape it back together. Just as the train was about half an hour away from Hogwarts, a creeping cold descended in the air.

Rosie started to shiver. Her teeth chattered and her stomach churned. Something did not feel right. The train came to a sudden halt, and the compartment door began to freeze over. It felt like winter time now.

Rosie began to feel something guttural in her chest. She wanted to scream. She could feel a weight on top of her, and she felt a sharp pain. Rosie wasn't on the train anymore, she was in the defense office. She was underneath of him, and he was pushing her down.

His breath was hot in her ear and she his hands were in her hair, holding her there. Rosie screamed, but nobody came. She cried as he moved inside of her... the pain was blinding and white hot. Suddenly, the memory changed, and Rosie was on her knees.

The floor was rough and cold. His hand grasped her hair from behind so that she was under his complete control. He forced it into her mouth and she gasped for air. She wanted to vomit. He kept forcing it deeper into the back of her throat, which was on fire.

Lockhart didn't stop until something came out of him and into Rosie's mouth. She gagged and spit. She could feel herself trying to vomit. This is how Rosie began to resurface.

She heard Ginny cry out, "No! Rosie doesn't like to be touched!"

"We need to get Professor Snape right away!"

She could feel strong hands holding her while she gagged and wretched, but Rosie didn't want to be touched. She didn't want to be held. Her mind hit a threshold point and the last thing that she heard was the cracking of glass before she passed out, welcoming the darkness.

When Rosie came to, she was lying down. Her breathing was raspy and her face felt swollen from crying. She sat up without thinking and vomited. Suddenly, somebody was there with her. She felt a hand pull her ponytail back out of her face, and another soothing hand rubbing circles on her back.

"Rose." A familiar voice calmed.

"You are here with me, at Hogwarts. We are in the entrance hall office. You are safe, and you are here."

She wanted to vomit again. She fell to the side, letting Snape's body support her own. Trying to concentrate on taking deep breaths, her eyes were still shut tight. A small bottle was pressed up against her lips and she drank from it willingly.

"That was a calming draught Rose." Her professor informed her.

"P..professor I..I remembered." She stammered.

"I know Rose. I did not realize that the dementors would have this effect on you."

"What?"

"Dementors. They guard the wizard prison called Azkaban. The ministry has had them brought to the castle until Sirius Black can be found."

"What does that have to do with me?" Rosie breathed, still very weak.

"Dementors have the power to make us relive our worst memories. I did not know that they also have the power to make us relive memories that have been erased. Several Dementors entered onto the train today without permission of the Headmaster."

Rosie just whimpered. "You had an outburst while experiencing the memories, and one of the glass doors on the train shattered. There were no injuries."

Rosie's breath was beginning to even out now. The draught was taking its effect. "Those were my memories professor, I know they were."

"I believe you." Snape responded evenly. He still had his hand on her back. When Rosie had calmed down, she was sitting up with her professor beside her.

"Sir, who was the other person on the train with me?" she asked.

"It was Professor Remus Lupin." Snape said curtly. He sounded displeased.

"You're new defense professor. Luckily he and your friends had the good sense to contact me immediately."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Hello, Severus, Rose… I just wanted to check in to see how Rose is feeling." Said a voice from the door.

The voice was smooth, comforting, and so eerily familiar. Rosie was sure that she had heard it before. She turned towards the door, and made eye contact with the person behind the voice. Her eyes widened in surprise. She let her hand come up to rest on her chest.

"Moony?" Rosie whispered in disbelief.


	21. Chapter 21

The man she knew was Moony stared back at her. His mouth dropped open.

"You remember me?" He asked incredulously, face riddled with shock.

Rosie wasn't sure what he meant. Of course, she remembered him. How could she forget?

To the left of her, Professor Snape had also changed his expression from one of neutrality to an icy glare. Before she could stop herself, Rosie was up off of the couch. She ran towards Moony in the doorway and buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

He received her, but she could tell how tense he was.

"You're a wizard?" Rosie asked, her whole demeanor changing. She pulled back and stared up at him.

"I guess you could say that." He said, bring his hand to the back of his head, chagrined.

"Care to explain?" Snape said in a tone that resembled disgust from behind them.

"Moony used to visit me Professor, when I lived at privet drive." She could feel her eyes welling up and she clutched onto her old friend.

Moony's face reddened and Rosie could tell that Snape was angry.

She tried to explain. "He came to see me on every birthday until I was about seven or eight. He said he was friends with my dad."

"I missed you when you stopped coming." Rosie trailed off…

"Oh, Rosie Potter." Moony sighed, he reached forward and pulled her into another solid hug lifting her off the ground in the process.

His arms were strong and his scent was familiar and warm.

Rosie heard Snape's icy drawl from the couch, "Well, I suppose I'll leave you two to catch up then." His voice was thick with something akin to distaste, or annoyance.

She realized in that moment that if her potions professor went to the feast, she would be all alone in her experience from the train. She could not talk to Moony about that.

"Wait!" Rosie cried as she turned momentarily away from Moony.

"Can you stay for just a few more minutes? Please?" She begged, giving Snape the look.

"Maybe I can come to your office tomorrow Moony and we can talk? Rosie was almost pleading now.

Moony gave her a curious look, but his eyes were kind. "Of course, Rose, why don't you come up during one of your breaks from class?" He added, "It was so nice to see you tonight."

"Bye Moony." Rosie trailed off as he smiled at her again and made his exit.

She turned back to face Snape. "Is something the matter?" Rosie asked innocently.

Her professor sighed long and low. "No, child. Nothing is… _the matter_. Though I am surprised that you would be so keen to jump into the arms of a man that you do not know, especially after today."

Rosie's face reacted before she did. A look of hurt flashed across her face.

"I just… I haven't seen Moony in so long, but I _do_ know him." She reasoned.

"Yes, I gathered that Potter, but if you had been paying attention, you would realize that you have just made plans to meet that man in the _defense_ office tomorrow."

Uh oh, Rosie was getting the 'Potter' treatment. She must have pissed off Snape.

It was true though, she should not have made plans involving that office. She had not been anywhere near it since Christmas last year. Snape had kept his regular office for the remainder of the year, making it unnecessary to go.

"Oh." Was all that Rosie replied.

Snape's expression was still cold and Rosie was beginning to feel upset. What had she done? The answer was nothing. She'd only greeted her friend. When she gave him her best hurt puppy look, Professor Snape closed his eyes and sighed again.

"Come here Rose." He patted the spot beside him on the couch.

"I know you had a hard time on the train, and that you were excited… but you need to promise to be careful this year, especially around Professor Lupin."

"Why sir? He was my friend before, surely he means no harm."

"I happen to know that the company he keeps can be rather questionable." Snape responded matter of factly.

"Sir, if I promise to be careful, will you talk to him before tomorrow and tell him to meet me somewhere else?" She whispered, her voice soft.

"I'm not ready to go _there_ … yet."

"Rose…"

"Please professor…" Rosie interrupted.

Shaking his head, Snape grumbled in agreement. "Fine, but I have some other _stipulations_ to negotiate with you if Lupin is going to be in your life."

"Like what professor?" Rosie was confused.

"Firstly, each time that you meet with him alone, I would like you to inform me of it. You can tell me, pass me a note, whatever you would like, but I want to be aware."

"Ok I guess." She agreed. Rosie didn't really want to have secret meetings with any professors anyways. Not after last year.

"Is that all?"

"One more thing Rose. When you are in my presence, and you are not in class, I would like to ask that your address me by my first name." He stated slowly.

"Like call you …. Severus?" Rosie clarified. She felt silly even saying it. "Why?"

"Yes, like call me Severus. I want the _staff_ to become aware that you are under my protection." His voice sounded almost menacing.

Rosie wasn't sure if that was exactly the truth, but she agreed to it anyways because she really did want to see Moony.

"Excellent. Tell me about your meetings with Lupin in the past." He demanded.

"Well… professor… Severus. He was kind of my first friend, I guess. He came to visit me when I was little, usually on my birthday. It used to freak my family out." She giggled.

"Sometimes I would pretend that one day he was going to come and whisk me away. When the Dursleys would bother me, I would sometimes tell them that."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"On my eighth birthday. He came and he brought me a cupcake. We spent a few hours at the park together because my family kicked me out. I waited for him on my ninth… I was always so excited by the idea of having a visitor… but he never came, not ever again."

"Yes… well Lupin was and has always been prohibited from visiting you Rose. So, it does not surprise me that he was no longer able to come. Had I myself been aware of these visits at the time, I would have stopped them much earlier."

"But why?"

"Nobody was to visit you. It was supposed to allow you the chance to bond with your mother's family."

"Who decided that?!" Rosie demanded, her voice laced with indignation.

"Professor Dumbledore."

"Oh." Was all that she could say.

"Now, we are settled on the Lupin issue. Tell me, how are you feeling?"

Truthfully, Rosie was feeling all mixed up inside. "Uncomfortable." She replied.

"Elaborate."

"I am feeling all warm and fuzzy on account of seeing Moony, but I also feel really sick and my tummy hurts."

"Your… _tummy_ hurts?" Snape repeated. She crossed her arms around her middle. "Yeah." She said, looking down.

Severus stared at the child in front of him. It was still hard for him to comprehend how she could feel so many emotions in such a short period of time. She had just gone from unbridled fear, to elation, to anxiety. He had been preparing assignments before the feast when he had received a Patronus message from Lupin stating that dementors had come onto the train and the Rose was inconsolable.

He had met the man outside the gates and had been handed an unconscious child and three very worried Gryffindor children. Lupin had been completely useless in the matter, he obviously had no idea how to handle the situation and Severus wondered how he was going to control any of his classes if he could not keep Rose Potter from fainting.

This was before it became aware to him that they knew each other. That… he had not been expecting. Lupin had always been spineless. It was entirely out of character for him to risk visiting the girl in her muggle home.

It made him sick to watch the child hugging the wolf, with no idea what he was capable of, what he was. With any luck, Severus would be able to keep Lupin under his thumb this year, tracking his movements, brewing him the wolfsbane, and allowing him to develop a healthy fear of the Potions Master.

The girl had said that her _tummy_ hurt. That was something he'd never heard anyone say before. It sounded childish on his tongue. He could see that she was beginning to put up her occlumency defenses, she was shutting out the world.

Normally he would never send a student to bed without supper, but in this case, he felt as though that might be the best option. He helped the girl drink a dreamless sleep. When she has finished it, she looked up with expectant eyes and he lifted her to her feet.

He brought her through the fireplace, down into the potion's office, and put her to rest once again in his bed, in his chambers. At least he knew that the girl would be safe all night.

When she had fallen asleep, Severus warred with the decision of who the see first, Lupin or the Headmaster. He chose Lupin. He did not knock, instead he entered the defence office without regard for what the wolf was doing.

"Severus, hello." Lupin greeted him calmly.

"Lupin"

"I can't say I wasn't expecting you to come by Severus. I trust Rosie is well."

"I would not use the word well, in the case of Rose Potter… she is resting, which is no concern of yours." Severus spat back.

"I do hope that you will allow it to become my concern Severus, I have only good intentions."

"You have obviously already taken that liberty upon yourself, as I seem to recall a strict policy put in place 12 years ago."

"I understand that Severus. I am aware that I shouldn't have visited, but I am not the first man to succumb to his weaknesses."

"Is the Headmaster aware of your folly?"

"He is. He is the reason that I did not return to privet drive."

"Do not tell the girl that." Severus commanded. "She needs to be able to put her trust in Albus."

"I am shocked that she remembers me, I only visited once a year for a few hours at most."

You apparently have no knowledge of the conscious processes of an eight-year-old." Severus lectured.

"I must say Severus, I am not astonished that you have become so taken with Rose." Lupin changed the subject. "I am however, slightly more surprised at how well she has taken to you."

"It is of no matter." Severus dismissed.

"Maybe, had Rosie been born a boy… things would be different, but she has always reminded me so much of her mother. James was much rougher, he was more aggressive harder to bond with…. But Lily… Well, I don't have to tell you Severus."

"Enough Lupin." He growled.

"I am not here to undermine your authority Severus, but I do want to have a relationship with Rose."

"See that you are careful. The girl is much more fragile than you know. She has asked me to inform you that she will not be able to meet you in this office tomorrow. It will have to be another location." Lupin gave him a strange look but smiled.

"Not a problem, where do you propose Severus?"

"Perhaps she would feel more comfortable meeting in my office." He drawled.

"Let's shoot for a middle ground…" Lupin replied tersely. "If you are adamant that there be a buffer, why don't I meet her in the Headmaster's office during the lunch hour."

"Fine." Severus agreed. He could live with that.


	22. Chapter 22

When Rosie woke up the next morning, she found that Snape had made her and himself a small breakfast. This was strange because she had rarely ever seen her professor eat. She had gotten ready quickly, pulling her hair back into another long ponytail and brushing her teeth. While they ate, Rosie pondered her situation.

"Professor… erm… Severus?" She asked, stumbling out the words.

"Yes?" He replied smoothly, raising his eyebrow as she fumbled with his name.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go on." He confirmed, taking another sip from the glass in his hand.

"Why do you think Professor Lockhart chose me?" She asked quickly. Snape almost spit out his pumpkin juice. He swallowed, closed his eyes, and thought about it for a moment.

"I think… that it was a situation of bad luck on your part. He was given easy access to you through the excessive amount of detentions that you received with him."

"So, you don't think it was something that I did?" She wondered out loud.

"I do not."

"I've had tons of detentions with you, and Filch… why was he so different? He seemed so nice to me."

"That is a good question Rose. He might have seemed nice, but there is something that I want you to remember, and this applies for everyone that you will meet now and in the future. Nice is different than good. Just because somebody seems nice, does not mean that they have your best interests at heart."

"Sir, are you good?" She asked, quieter this time.

"What is your opinion on that?" He humored her.

"Well… I guess I kind of understand what you are saying because you haven't always been nice… but I know that you are good."

"Why do you say that I'm good?"

"Um, well, you have kind of seen me helpless and in a really bad position but you have never…you know, taken advantage of that, or hurt me." She answered.

"Interesting. So, in your mind, I am good because I have not forced you into sex despite having plenty of opportunity?"

"Oh!" Rosie squeaked, her face flushed and she covered it with her hands. "I guess so…" She blushed harder, the air in the room thickened. "But there is more than one way to hurt somebody."

"What are the other ways that you know of to hurt someone Rose?"

"Well… _that_ , but I just found out about that one. Then there is hitting or punching someone, cruel words, sometimes people are hurt when you don't show them enough love, and I suppose using dark magic and spells on them?" She listed, but it sounded more like a question than an answer.

Snape nodded. "What would you think if you knew that I had done some of those things on that list to other people?" He asked curiously. "Would I still be good?"

"I think maybe doing some things is worse than doing other things." She clarified. "I think it depends on the reason too."

"How so?" He prompted. She could tell he was intrigued.

"Well, what Lockhart did, that was for his own… _pleasure."_ She shivered. "But if somebody uses dark magic to do something noble or brave, then maybe that would be different."

"Do you think that somebody who did many of those things for personal gain or pleasure can change to become good?" He asked her seriously.

Rosie thought about it. She wasn't sure. Maybe someone like Dudley… because he was a child the same as Rosie. He might grow up and change into a nice person. She didn't think that particularly likely, but she supposed it was possible.

"Maybe…" She said, but her answer was not confident.

"What about Lockhart?" Snape suggested softly. "If he came to apologize to you after ten years saying that he had changed. Would you believe him?"

Rosie's insides twisted. She didn't want to think about ever seeing him again. "I think that actions speak louder than words do." She trailed off… "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"You are right, this conversation is much to heavy for breakfast time." Snape confirmed.

"Are you looking forward to seeing Lupin today?" He was gentle with her, but he still spat out Moony's name.

Rosie smiled. She had almost forgotten. "Yes, I am, but why do you hate him Severus?" She was proud of herself for letting his name roll easily off her tongue.

"That is a conversation that is also much to heavy for breakfast." He replied curtly. "It is not relevant."

"You know… he said he was friends with my dad, and my dad and my mother met in school… and you were in school with my mother. So, you must have known Moony too, right?"

"That is correct."

"So, you knew my father as well?"

"I did." He answered, but his voice was clipped.

"What was he like?" She pushed.

"Rose. I think it best that we continue to talk only of your mother. You can ask Lupin about your father if you are curious."

"Oh, ok." Was all she replied.

"I think it's time for you to go down and meet your friends for class. You have potions, and then Arithmancy if I am correct."

"Ok sir, I'll go. She touched her fingers to the locket around her neck. Snape noticed. "Thanks again Severus…" She said and she cracked a small smile. "See you later."

"See you later Rose."

Rosie was nervous to see her friends and her peers after what had happened yesterday. She was sure that everyone had heard about her reaction to the dementors. Dread built up in her stomach the closer that she came to the great hall.

Her friends were always so supportive, but she felt as though she didn't deserve it. If they only knew why she was really like this… When she reached the Gryffindor table, she sat down quickly and made eye contact with Ginny who was across from her.

"Hi Rosie!" Hermione greeted her.

"Hey." She responded.

"Are you looking forward to Arithmancy? I am!" Her friend grinned.

Rosie breathed a sigh of relief. There seemed to be a collective agreement not to talk about yesterday's incident.

"Yeah I am!" She replied happily.

"I don't know how you could be excited about Arithmancy," Ron chimed in. "That has to be the most difficult and boring course here."

"Worse than potions?" Ginny asked him giggling.

"Maybe Rosie and I are more interested in it because it is so similar to muggle maths." Hermione suggested. That made sense to Rosie. She turned to Ginny and asked, "How do wizards learn math anyways?"

"Our mum taught us!" Ginny answered.

The morning went by quickly. Potions was a breeze. Snape never paid attention to her in that class, but he did not criticize her either. Arithmancy was nice. Hermione was overjoyed, and Rosie couldn't help but enjoy herself as well.

When it was over, she felt the nerves begin to build up in her stomach. It was lunch time, and it was time for her to go see Moony. Quickly dispatching her friends, she hurried up to the Headmasters office, and realized that nobody had thought to tell her the password.

"Licorice wands." Rosie heard a voice behind her say.

She turned around to see Moony grinning behind her.

"Moony!" She cried.

It was almost an instinct to hug him. She lunged forward and buried her face into his robes once again.

"Hello Rosie." He greeted her warmly.

The gargoyle in front of them turned itself around to reveal the staircase leading up to the office. Rosie kept her hand on his arm and led him up the stairs.

"Remus my boy, and young Rose, how nice to see you two reunited." Dumbledore beamed. "Please have a seat and enjoy your time together. I have some business to attend to at the ministry so I'll be stepping out."

Dumbledore smiled and left through the fireplace. Rosie sat in front of Moony on the couch in the Headmaster's office. There was a moment of silence, and then his expression turned from one of happiness to worry.

"How are you feeling Rosie? I was very worried about you. I've never seen such a strong reaction to dementors."

Her face flushed. She had forgotten that he had seen her like that.

"I'm alright…" She said. "I stayed with Severus last night and he gave me a whole bunch of potions, so that helped."

Moony's eyebrows shot up. "You stayed with Severus? What does that mean?"

"Oh, well sometimes I stay in his chambers if I'm upset."

"Is the Headmaster aware that you do this Rose?" He asked, his face flashed with concern.

"Oh! Of course, Moony, it's not weird, I promise, you can ask him. He suggested it actually. Severus has kind of just always taken care of me." She lied easily.

"Yes, I can see that he's very protective of you."

"Yeah, he is, I think he feels guilty or something."

"Why would you say that?" He asked curiously.

"Well… he was friends with my mom and I don't think they ended their friendship on a good note…" Rosie theorized. "I think he's trying to make up for that by being nice to me."

"That is an interesting theory Rose. How do you know that they ended badly?"

"Hm... He showed me this memory of her last year when I was feeling sad that she died, and they were fighting in it, my mom was there with me."

"She was?" Moony seemed to be confused about something.

"Yeah! Look at this, he made me a picture from the memory." Rosie opened up her locket to show Moony. The tiny Lily picked up Rosie and kissed her on the cheek.

"That's beautiful. How very thoughtful of Severus." Moony acknowledged, but something seemed to be bothering him.

"It's that, and just the way that he talks about her. He would be so cross with me for saying this, but he always looks so sad when he tells me a story about my mother."

"Have you ever asked him?"

"No! Of course not! Have you met Severus?" Rosie giggled.

Moony chuckled lightly. "Fair enough, he said."

"My dear, I'm surprised that you were able to remember me after all this time. I had thought that you'd forgotten or time together when you were little."

"Moony, I'm only thirteen. It wasn't that long ago. Plus… not very many people have been as nice to me as you were. That's pretty hard to forget. I didn't connect the dots enough to realize that you had been a wizard or I would have looked for you."

"That's very sweet of you to say Rose, thank you. I didn't realize I had made such an impact."

"Severus said that if I have any questions about my dad that I should ask you and not him."

"He said that did he?"

"Yes! This morning."

"And do you have questions?" He asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course, I do, but I'm mostly curious about how you knew each other."

Moony's face was smiling but his eyes were sad. "James was one of the dearest friends that I've ever had." He said sincerely. We were both Gryffindors in the same year. I had a very hard time as a child and James latched onto me and always tried to cheer me up, he was very loyal."

Rosie smiled. Severus said last night that your choice of friends was questionable. Was he talking about my dad?" She asked innocently. "I don't think he liked him very much."

Moony's face went dark, "He might have been Rose… but he was probably referring to Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black was your friend?" Rosie exclaimed.

"He was your father's very best friend and he and I were also very close, yes."

"Wow, that is terrible, you must have been so sad when he joined Voldemort."

Moony's eyes widened. "Rosie dear, do you think we could talk about something else? That is a bit of dark subject for lunch."

"Oh, sure, of course, sorry Moony."

"Not to worry Rose. Now, I heard that you're on the quidditch team? When is the next game? I'd like to see you play. Did you know that your father played chaser for Gryffindor?"

There conversation continued for the rest of the lunch period. They discussed quidditch, Rosie's friends, and her interests. He told her that he had been working as a shopkeeper at a bookstore before accepting the post as defense professor.

Rosie found him very easy to talk to, and he seemed fascinated with everything that she said. She guessed that this is what happened when you had dead parents. There friends are so enraptured by you because you remind them of your parents. Rosie didn't mind.

When it was time for defense class, she walked down to the classroom with Moony. Her friends quickly joined her and she introduced them to the professor. When they entered the room, it was as a class and Rosie learned that they would be studying boggarts today.

A boggart, as Hermione explained, was a magical creature that took on the form of a person's greatest fear. Moony explained that the charm to repel a boggart was,

"Ridikulus."

He explained to them that the thing that was most feared had to be transformed into something humorous before it could be conquered. When he was done his explanation, He revealed that he actually contained a boggart in a wardrobe for the students to practice the charm with. They were to each take turns facing it.

Neville Longbottom was chosen to go first. He stepped in front of the wardrobe and it began to shake. Moony opened it up, and out stepped… Severus? Rosie let out a small giggle and Ron made eye contact with her and laughed.

The potions master eyed the students menacingly and walked towards Neville. The boy looked paralyzed, his hands were shaking.

Rosie wracked her brain, then, she quickly hopped forward to where Neville was standing frozen, and cupped her hands around his ear.

"Neville, picture him in your grandmother's clothes and say the spell." She whispered seriously. He turned to look at her and she said,

"Just do it! Trust me!"

"Ridikulus!" Shouted the petrified boy.

Severus changed from his usual black robes into a long flowing pink gown. He wore a fur hat and heals. Rosie giggled along with Neville and the rest of her class. She turned to see Moony with his hand over his mouth, his eyes rich with bemusement.

"Very good Neville, Next!" He encouraged.

They all formed a line, and one by one defeated their greatest fears. When it was Rosie's turn, she stepped forward nervously. She was not sure what this boggart would turn into, but she was not looking forward to it.

Moony has his back to them and was fixing the record player that he had going. The boggart changed its shape quickly from a grim to a large black figure, it had no eyes, any only a mouth. It floated above Rosie and she began to feel the same cold dread that she had felt on the train yesterday.

The gut-wrenching feeling of fear welled up inside of her and she heard the familiar sound of glass exploding. She could feel Lockhart moving against her, his mouth was on her neck, his breath in her ear.

He had his hands on her chest, touching her, and she was powerless to stop him, she could feel something hard pressed against her leg.

Suddenly, the memory ended, and Rosie found herself once again in the defense classroom. Moony had stepped in front of the boggart, and it changed into the silvery orb of the moon.

Her breathing was unsteady, and the entire class was staring at her. Their professor banished the boggart and ended the class. Everyone began to file out slowly chatting amongst themselves. Ron and Hermione stayed behind to wait for Rosie. She was paralyzed, still standing exactly where she had been when the boggart changed.

Before Moony could talk to her, Rosie spun around and gave her friends a pleading look.

"Let's go" she mouthed and they followed her out the door.

They walked in silence to their next class, which was transfigurations, but Hermione kept her hand steady on Rosie's shoulder the entire time.


	23. Chapter 23

Severus was in his office that evening marking papers when he heard a knock on his door. "Enter." He called out and to his greatest dismay, Lupin appeared on the other side of the door.

"Yes?" He asked impatiently.

"Severus, good evening. I just wanted to update you on Rose today." The wolf replied.

"I assure you Lupin, I have no interest in your conversation with Rose Potter."

"I think you might Severus. I was hard pressed to get her to stop talking about you the entire time we were together." The man smirked.

Severus raised his eyebrows at the man. What could the girl have possibly said about him? "Go on." He allowed, motioning for the wolf to sit.

"I think you should talk to her."

"I do talk to her." Severus' eyes narrowed.

"No, I think you should be more open with her, or affectionate, I'm not sure how to put this. She told me that she thinks you are only nice to her because you feel guilty about what happened between you and Lily."

"Did she say that, or did you just happen to slip that into the conversation?" Severus was becoming annoyed now.

"Those were her exact words Severus, I was merely commenting on your protectiveness and that was her explanation for it."

Severus frowned. That wasn't good. He didn't realize that the girl had even understood the memory that he'd shown her last year. "How very perceptive of her." Severus stated calmly. "I suppose it did begin that way, but that is no longer the case."

"What else did she say?"

"She already knew that you didn't like James, and I let it slip that Sirius was our friend."

"You what?" Severus threatened.

"It was not my intention." The wolf defended. "She asked me about my _questionable_ choice in friends, and I was not very well going to say that her father was one of the people you were referring to."

"How did she react?" Severus glared.

"Well she certainly has a remarkable apathy when talking about 'He-who-must-not-be-named'." Lupin sighed.

"That she does. Albus got to her first."

Lupin chuckled, and Severus shot him another penetrating glare. "Is that all?" He asked.

"There is one more thing Severus." He just nodded, waiting for the details. "There was an incident in Defence today."

"What kind of _incident_?" Severus spat.

"I brought in a boggart for the children to take turns facing…" Lupin barely got the words out before Severus reacted.

"Do you mean to tell me that you put Rose Potter in front of a boggart?" He was practically shouting now.

"I did." He explained calmly.

"What would possess you to do that?" Severus was fuming.

"I wasn't thinking… I was under the impression that she might be afraid of you-know-who, so I was wary, but I was not expecting it to go the way it did."

"No, you imbecile, she is not afraid of the Dark Lord, what happened?" He demanded.

"Her boggart was a dementor."

"Of course, it was. I assume she had a similar reaction to yesterday's?"

Lupin just nodded solemnly.

"Then why in Merlin's name did you not bring her straight to me?" Severus interrogated.

"She left so quickly with that girl, Granger and the Young Weasley boy, I couldn't even talk to her myself. She seemed functional though Severus, not like yesterday. She did not scream or cry this time, she only stood there and stared at it."

"She was not fine. Now I'm going to have to go and get her. In the future, notify me immediately."

"I apologize Severus, I was not aware that this was as serious as it seems to be."

"The girl is unstable. She is in need of near constant supervision." He spat.

"What happened to her Severus? She was not like that when I first met her."

"I am not at liberty to discuss such things with you Lupin, as they are not my secrets to reveal."

"Fair enough." Lupin conceded. Very well then Severus, that was all. Good night." He said as he left the potion master's office. Severus sighed. One peaceful night would be nice.


	24. Chapter 24

Rosie was in the common room alone. She was staring at the fireplace but her mind was elsewhere. It was late, her friends had already gone to bed. One day had felt like several, and she had a lot of information to sort through. There were her memories, which had been brought about by these dementor things that now lived at the school. However, Rosie was also lost in thought in regards to Severus, and Moony. Two people had entered her life that she knew were going to be around for a long time. One day with Moony after years of not seeing him and she was already attached. There was definitely something wrong with her. On the other hand, Rosie had been spending a more than was healthy amount of time with Severus lately too. This was not the first time in the past few months that she had felt at war with her own emotions. As if somebody had read her mind, the portrait in the common room swung open, and in walked Severus himself. She could tell that he was tense.

"I thought that you might be awake." He said tersely, without greeting her.

"Why?" Rosie asked, confused.

"Lupin came to see me. He was concerned because apparently, you left rather quickly after your class ended." He shot her a meaningful glance and Rosie sighed. She didn't want to get into this.

"Professor… Severus. I don't need to pour my heart out about it every time I have another memory of my professor fucking me." Rosie spat. Her eyes were cast down so that she couldn't see her professor's reaction.

"Where did you learn that word in this context?" He asked seriously.

"It's not relevant." Rosie replied, using his own words against him.

"You are using it incorrectly. The term 'fucking,' vulgar as it is, implies consent. In your case, consent was not present, therefore, the word is not applicable."

"Stop." Rosie begged. "I don't want to talk about this."

"You cannot bottle it up. There are some people who can mask their feelings and never let them show. You, Rose Potter, are not one of them. The less you share now, the worse your next outburst will be."

"I just don't want to deal with it anymore. The second I feel any kind of calm, or happiness, this just happens all over again." She confessed.

"I know, but it will get easier."

"When?! When will it get easier? I am surrounded by those horrible dementor things from now until they find Sirius Black! I am stuck in the same class that _he_ taught in, Moony's office is the same office that _he_ had… the couch that he sits on is the same couch that…" Rosie trailed off.

"Rose. Control your emotions, do you want all of Gryffindor tower to hear you?"

"No." she replied, her head hung.

"I can tell that you are very conscious about Lupin's part in this." Severus started. "Perhaps we ought to make a plan to inform your old _friend_ about your encounters with Lockhart."

"Please don't." Rosie pleaded.

Severus sighed loudly. "Be open and honest with me then, and I will keep my silence."

Rosie groaned back.

"Tell me what you saw in the new memory."

" _He_ was pushing me down again."

"And who is _he_?" Severus asked nonchalantly.

"Professor Lockhart." Rosie glared.

"Go on."

"Professor Lockhart was touching me on my chest, and then I could feel his… against me."

"His what?" Severus asked again.

"Don't make me say it." Rosie begged.

"The faster that you become comfortable with the language, the easier it will be to talk about it."

"I can't" She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Rose. What happened in the memory?"

"He was touching my chest and moving his p.. penis against me." She forced out.

"Good. Thank you for sharing that."

"I didn't have much of a choice." Rosie grumbled.

"What has been the most difficult part about recovering your own memories?" He asked her next.

"I guess it's not really the images, because I already had those. It's like my body is remembering this time, like I can feel it now…"

"Feel what?" He responded.

Rosie wanted to scream. Why was Snape doing this to her?! "I can feel the pain now and the…you know… fear that I felt." She added, and her face burned with shame.

"Alright. Excellent job Rose. You did not have an outburst. That was well done."

"Can we be done now? Please?" Rosie gave her professor her very best sad eyes.

"Yes child. I promise that I do not do this to watch you suffer."

Rosie just shrugged. "Why did Moony want to talk to you if he didn't know what was wrong with me in defense?"

"Actually, he came to talk to me about something you said in his time with you this afternoon."

"Oh, so you are both just going to collectively tell on me to each other now for the rest of the year?" Rosie barked. "Great. Just great."

"Your secrets are safe with me. As you are aware." Severus repeated to her, his voice was even.

"Whatever." She responded belligerently. "What did he say then?"

"He informed me of your belief that I only look after you because of your mother."

Rosie's eyes widened. "Would you care to elaborate on that?" Her professor prodded.

"Professor… Severus, I'm not blind."

"What do you mean by that?" He asked calmly.

"It was very kind of you to show me that memory last year… but it was obvious that it was your last one… of her, and you two were arguing. Then she died."

Severus closed his eyes. His breathing was soft, he was not cross with her.

"It is not a lie that my relationship with your mother was tumultuous. However, even if my concern for you had stemmed from my history with you mother… it is not now."

"Wait… so are you saying that you care about me just because?" Rosie smirked a little bit.

"I suppose that is what I am saying Rose, yes." He grimaced.

"Thanks sir." She said quietly.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N- Hello all, thanks again for continuing this far! I wanted to use this Author's note to actually recommend a story that helped inspire this one. I would love you to all go over to lastcrazyhorn ('s) profile and read the story Unbuttoned. It is a Boy Harry fic that deals beautifully with sexual abuse and is Severus centric as well. -Meg**

Rosie awoke the next morning feeling better than she thought she would. The sun was barely up over the horizon, but she got up anyways because this morning was the first quidditch practice of the year. Changing into her Gryffindor team uniform, Rosie took a few moments to braid her hair down both sides. The hairstyle made her feel in control, and contained.

She had flown over the summer, but she had not participated on the Gryffindor team last year after Christmas. Today, Rosie was ecstatic to play again, even if it was only a practice. As she headed down to the pitched, she stopped to grab a bite of sausage and milk from the empty great hall. As the pitch became larger in Rosie's vision, she could see that the Weasley twins and captain Oliver Wood were already there.

"Heya Rosie!" Shouted Fred from a few yards away.

The twins sauntered towards her and much to her surprise, each tucked an arm under her shoulders to spin her around and away from Wood.

"We wanted to check in with you." George explained quietly as they put her down.

"We've been worried since the train." Fred continued.

"You alright Rosie?" They finished.

She giggled as George pinched one of her cheeks. Rosie did enjoy having the twins around, even when they went to far, it was never on purpose.

"I'm okay guys! Thanks though."

"Alrighty sweet cheeks, but you let us know if we need to use our bats for more than bludgers, got it?" Fred smiled.

"I will." Rosie promised them.

Wood greeted Rosie with more enthusiasm than she was expecting. That must have meant that she had been missed last year. As the other players began to trickle in one by one, the team was instructed to complete several laps and then set up for a mock game. Rosie was soaring over the pitch again before she even had time to think about it.

This was bliss.

It was a feeling that came few and far between for her lately. She made a mental note to come out and fly more often.

After practice, Rosie ran upstairs to the common room and changed into her uniform, slipping the locket over her head and fixing her hair which had been mussed up from the wind. Today, she felt a little bit less self conscious for whatever reason and decided to thread a little bit of red ribbon into her hair to match the Gryffindor crest.

When she came down from her dorm, she realized that her friends had left without her. Checking the time, Rosie understood why. She was late. Taking off towards her Potions class, Neville joined her from behind, his face expressed a slightly higher degree of panic than her own.

"Relax Neville, you're with me." Rosie winked.

She put her hand on his back and they entered Severus' classroom together.

"Miss Potter, Mr. Longbottom. How nice of you to join us." Severus drawled, pausing his speech.

"Sorry Professor." Rosie blinked at him and grinned widely. "I held Neville up."

Severus just stared at her. He quickly nodded towards their seats. "Very well then. See that it does not happen again in the future." His voice was threatening enough that Neville shivered beside her, but Rosie knew that she had gotten them off scot free.

As they sat down, she heard Neville whisper to Ron beside him, "Bloody brilliant she is."

That made her feel good.

When Rosie came forward to deliver her finished potion at the end of class, she handed Severus a note, and flashed him a small smile. He accepted the note but glared right through her. She must have caught him in a mood. The note read,

 _Going to visit Moony at lunch, so sorry about being late- Rosie_

Today, instead of defense, Rosie had Care of Magical Creatures, and then Transfiguration after that. This meant that she had to keep track of the time during her visit with Moony. She ran up to the defense office, knocked, and then turned away and stood along side the wall. Rosie didn't even want to see inside.

When Moony came to the door, she whispered, "Hey."

"Rose. How lovely to see you. Did you want to come in for a cup of tea?" He offered, his voice soft.

"Could we maybe… go for a walk instead?" She suggested.

Moony looked puzzled, but held his smile in place well. "Of course dear. Where did you have in mind?"

As soon as he had stepped completely out of the office and closed the door behind him, Rosie jumped forward and gave him a hug. Something about Moony's scent made her feel so comfortable and calm. She had intended on being upset that he had talked to Severus the previous night, but she was too happy to see him.

"I'm sorry for leaving so quickly after the lesson yesterday." Rosie apologized as they began to walk. "Severus told me that you were worried."

"Don't think anything of it Rosie, I'm the one who is sorry. I should never have let you face the boggart."

"I don't understand why nobody else is affected by the dementors like I am." Rosie sighed.

"Dementors force us to relive the worst memories of our lives Rose… I am under the impression that your worst memories might not be as trivial as the majority of your classmates."

Rosie frowned. "What about Ginny?" She asked. "I would have expected Ginny to be more upset by the dementors."

"Miss. Weasley? Oh, I think she was too focused on making sure that you were alright. She is a good friend that one."

She nodded in agreement. "Rose… might I ask you a personal question?" Moony started cautiously.

She cocked her head to the side in curiosity, but smiled, indicating that he should ask.

"Do you remember anything of your parents?"

"No, I don't." Rosie responded… "Only the night they died."

"You remember the attack on your home?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes. Only a bit. I remember hearing my dad yell to my mom that she should take me and run… then I remember hearing my mother begging for my life… I saw Voldemort's face, and then there was just a lot of green light and pain in my head." Rosie explained.

Moony cringed.

"Sorry." She said quickly. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"No no, I asked." He reassured. Moony gave her an intense look, and lifted his hand.

"Do you mind?" He indicated towards her scar.

"It's ok." She gave permission. He traced the lightning bolt along her forehead, his frown deepening.

"How long had my mom and dad known each other before they started up?" Rosie asked, changing the subject.

"Excellent question Rosie." Moony chuckled, replacing his sadness. "It's funny, actually, you mother hated James for years. She was friends with Severus, and Severus and James did not get along."

"Why was that?"

"Oh, various reasons… None of it relevant now my dear." He dodged her question.

"Finally, at the end of their sixth year, Lily accepted James' invite to go to Hogsmeade."

"Do you have a picture of him?"

"Who?" Moony asked.

"My father." She replied. "I don't know what he looks like, just my mom."

Moony froze where they stood.

"Rosie you can't be serious… you've never seen your father?" She looked down, ashamed, but shook her head. Her professor looked a bit starstruck. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but Rosie went in for another hug. "I'm sorry!" She cried as she rested her head on his robes. "The Dursleys… they didn't like my parents, so they never showed me any pictures. The first time I saw my mother was in Severus' mind during occlumency lessons."

"Child, of course I will bring you a picture of your father, and your mother. I'm sure I have both."

"Thanks Moony." Rosie smiled, taking in his comforting tone. Suddenly, confusion drifted across the man's face.

"Wait… you said that you took occlumency lessons from Severus last year?"

"Uh huh."

"Why did you need those?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Rosie flinched.


	26. Chapter 26

After a couple weeks of classes, Rosie had something to ask Severus. She sauntered down towards the dungeons and knocked confidently at his office door. Hearing the familiar,

"Enter." Indicating that she could open the door, Rosie pushed her way in.

"Good evening Rose." Severus nodded curtly. She sat in front of his desk and flashed him a smile.

"Hi Severus."

"Did you have a pleasant visit with the w…Lupin? Severus asked, though she didn't really think he cared much.

"Yes, it was nice. He's going to find me a picture of my father."

"How nice." Severus replied, but it sounded as though he didn't really think it was nice.

"Um… sir, can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"Who is my official guardian right now?"

"Why do you ask?" Severus questioned, his eyebrow raised.

"Well… I need somebody to sign my Hogsmeade permission slip, but I don't even know if I have a guardian."

"Ah yes. I am not sure if it is a good idea to have you traipsing around Hogsmeade this year considering the current…climate."

"Oh Severus, please. I won't talk to anybody weird, and I won't go alone. I just want to go with my friends."

"Rose."

"Please Severus, please please please." She gave him the look, her eyes wide and her mouth turned down.

"Fine. I will sign it."

"Thank you!" She squealed. "Are you my guardian then?"

"In the interim until a suitable replacement can be found."

"Why can't you just stay my guardian?" She asked innocently. Severus' eyes widened in surprise.

"I assure you that I would not be the right fit." He told her.

"Well why not? You already do everything for me anyways." Rosie frowned.

Severus grimaced and closed his eyes. "In the future, there may come a time when it will be a risk to both your safety and my own for you to be residing with me."

Rosie's face furrowed in confusion. "That makes no sense sir."

"It's not going to happen Rose. I would if I could, but I cannot."

Confusion turned to sadness, and Rosie could tell the Severus had noticed. Her professor put his head in his hands groaning. She felt uncomfortable, like what she had asked of him was bad or inappropriate.

"I'd better go to dinner…" Rosie finished, her voice low and quiet. She got up to leave, and Severus did not try to stop her.

On her way to the great hall, rounding the corner to leave the dungeons, Rosie came face to face with Draco Malfoy and his cronies. Her hand thrust automatically into her robe pocket to grasp her wand.

"Oi Potter, fancy seeing you here." Malfoy taunted.

"I thought you'd be hiding from our friendly neighborhood dementors." Crabbe and Goyle laughed and high fived each other from behind.

"Excuse me Malfoy." Rosie said as she tried to move past him.

"Not so fast Potter." He put his hand up to stop her, placing it on her shoulder.

Rosie stifled the instinct to flinch away.

"What do you see when they come near…?" He asked in a low whisper. "I bet you hear your coward parents scream for mercy as they die."

"Shut it Malfoy." She warned, her voice steady.

"Or what?" He mocked. "Tell me… did your mother really bleed mud when the Dark Lord got to her?"

Crabbe and Goyle went mad with laughter from behind.

"Get it Potter, because she was a mudblood." Goyle cackled.

Rosie didn't know what that meant but she knew it was bad. Her hands came out in front of her and she pushed Malfoy back a few steps. He drew his wand and cast a jelly-legs jinx, which Rosie dodged.

She cast a disarming spell, and sent Malfoy flying back, hitting the wall and falling to the floor.

"Rose Potter." She could hear a voice from behind her cry in anger. It was professor McGonagall. "What is the meaning of this?"

"She cursed me professor!" Malfoy yelled.

"I can see that Mister Malfoy." McGonagall snapped. "That is a detention tonight with Professor Lupin, Rose. You will report to the defense office at seven o'clock."

A flood of sheer panic turned the blood in her veins to ice… She could not go to the defense office.

"What is going on here?" Severus' voice came out of nowhere from behind, his words coming out as a sneer.

"Miss Potter and Mr. Malfoy have been fighting. Mr. Malfoy will serve a detention with me at seven and Miss Potter will be serving detention with Professor Lupin at the same hour Severus."

"Very well then." He responded casually.

McGonagall nodded and turned away motioning for the Slytherin boys to follow her. This left Rosie alone with Severus once again.

"Professor… Severus. I don't care about the detention, but please don't make me go to the defense office." She begged, her voice hitching.

Severus did that horrible thing where he looked into her eyes then turned way.

That was never good. Not facing her, he said calmly, "I have not power here Rose. You must report to the defense office at seven o'clock."

"Severus, please!" She cried. Her eyes were beginning to sting. "I can't."

"You should have thought of that before you hexed Mr. Malfoy." He responded seriously, but he would not look at her.

Rose knew that this was some sort of revenge for her annoying him about the guardian thing. "Severus…" Rosie was crying now.

"Rose. You need to learn that your actions have consequences. I cannot make exceptions for you with other Professors." She wanted to vomit.

"Your other option is to explain the situation to Lupin and ask him to hold the detention in another location." Severus suggested, his voice emotionless.

"I can't!" She sobbed, her breathing becoming laboured.

"Then you need to prepare yourself."

"Look at me!" Rosie screamed at him, and he stumbled backwards as if he had been pushed.

"Rose. Control your emotions. You're having an outburst."

"Look at me!" she shouted again and his eyes made contact with hers.

"I hate you." She sneered, kicking the wall as she turned her back on him and walked away.

She ended up in her dorm. Laying on the bed, she replayed the scene over and over in her mind, dreading the detention that was to come.

Severus felt like a monster. No, he was a monster.

He couldn't believe how badly the day had ended. First, he had rejected the request of the child to become her guardian, which was not entirely his fault… What he'd said was true, if the Dark Lord were to return, it would be dangerous if not impossible to have Rose Potter living under his roof.

However, he had rejected her in a way that she did not understand, and he had ignored her. Now, he was forcing her to serve detention in the office where she had been repeatedly raped less than a year ago.

Recapping that in his mind was almost enough for Severus to go out looking for the girl to cancel her detention. However, what he'd said to her regarding that matter had also been true… She did need to learn that her actions have consequences, she could not go around hexing everyone that bothered her. A detention with him would not suffice.

This, this was a real punishment.

He hoped that she would learn from it. Even so, Severus felt sick thinking about what he had done. He would have to find some excuse to check on her.

At least Lupin was a comfort to the girl. He knew that Albus was pushing for the wolf to become her permanent guardian. The thought disgusted Severus, but he did not have any other ideas, so for the time being, he had to be on board.

He highly doubted that Rose would tell Lupin about Lockhart, but he hoped that the wolf would be perceptive enough to understand that something was amiss.

Rosie had fallen asleep after her argument with Severus. When she awoke, it was six forty-five. She quickly changed. Not wanting to wear her uniform, she chose an oversized sweater and tights to wear to her detention.

If she was going to be upset, Rosie reasoned that she might as well be upset and comfortable. Her nerves were a lost cause. Her stomach was churning and her chest was tight. Knowing that the effort was futile, Rosie put up her best occlumency defenses and began the trek towards Moony's office.

With each step her heart thudded louder. She hadn't even reached the office yet when her mind began to replay the memories, Lockhart's along with her own. There was no defense strong enough to block this feeling out.

When Rosie arrived at the office, she could not bring herself to knock. Instead, she just stood there staring at the door with her stomach in her throat. After several minutes, the knob on the door turned, presumably, Moony was wondering where she was.

He opened the door slowly, and when he caught sight of her standing in front of him, his expression transformed into one of confusion.

"Rose? How long have you been standing out here?" He asked softly.

Rosie just shrugged, her voice was caught and she couldn't speak.

"Rosie, are you ok?" His tone quickened with worry.

She just shook her head.

Moony motioned for her to come into the office, "Ok sweetheart. Just come sit down alright?" He soothed.

The moment that she walked through the door, her chest felt as though it was being crushed. The air was thick. She looked around. The last time she had been in here, it had only been through the pensive.

Rosie's eyes flashed from the coat hanger where her tie had hung, to the desk, and finally the couch where she knew that everything had happened.

Moony made a move to put his hand on her back, but before he was able Rosie flinched, hard, and skirted away from his hand.

"Please don't touch me." She whimpered.

She could see the hurt flash across Moony's face, but could not bring herself to talk.

"Rose sweetheart, why don't we get you settled here on the couch?" he suggested cautiously.

"No!" she cried, the panic evident in her voice.

She didn't want to sit on that thing. As she turned to face Moony, her hands jutted out in front of her to indicate that he stay back.

She slowly backed herself up until she was in the corner of the office. Sliding her back down the wall, Rosie came to rest in a sitting position, laying her cheek against the other side of the wall to her right and closing her eyes.

"Rosie, please talk to me, what's wrong?" Moony pleaded with her, but she could not think.

"Shall I fetch Severus?" He asked, the concern growing in his voice. "Did something happen?" Rosie did not respond.

Severus was adding the last ingredient into the detoxifying potion that he was brewing when he heard a voice from his office next door. Leaving the potion to simmer, he went through to his office to investigate.

He was not startled to find Lupin's face in his fire, but he was surprised that the wolf had given up so easily with the girl, it was only fifteen minutes past the hour.

"Lupin." He greeted the man tersely.

"Severus can you come through? Something is wrong with Rose."

"I cannot." He replied. Lupin had to learn to deal with the girl it a situation like this.

"Severus it is an emergency, she's not well."

"I am aware." He nodded toward the fireplace. "You will have to handle it Lupin."

"What can I do? She won't even look at me. I can't get close enough to comfort her, she just shrinks away." His voice was wavering.

"You need to get close to her. It does not matter if she screams, cries, or breaks things. You must take control of the situation. She is not in her own mind, you need to bring her back to reality. You need to snap her out of it. Only then will she communicate with you." Severus instructed firmly.

"I'll try." Lupin conceded, but Severus did not have high hopes. He would go check on them in a few minutes.

Rosie saw Moony's head emerge from the fire and she expected that Severus would come through. Her thoughts were cloudy. The memories swirled around in her brain making her feel dizzy. Moony was nervous, she could tell.

He approached her slowly, moving towards her spot in the corner. "Rose. I need you to relax. I'm not going to hurt you, but I need you to come and sit with me so that we can chat." He told her.

Rosie ignored him.

She could hear Moony take a deep breath. He let it out, and then bent down and sat beside her. Taking hold of her right shoulder, her pulled her forcefully towards him so that her upper body came to rest on his chest.

"No! Get off me!" She screeched fighting his strength. "Please don't, please stop, don't touch me!" Rosie pulled away from him, but his grip was tight and she could not get away.

Her body arched in panic. She was trapped, he could do whatever he wanted to her. The coat hanger in front of them came crashing to the ground. Moony's face was pained and his eyes were closed but he did not relent.

Rosie began to cry, "Don't touch me." She whimpered again but he held on.

"Rosie, you're with me. You're with Moony. It's ok, I'm right here with you."

Rosie kept struggling. She couldn't breathe. Her professor's hand came underneath her chin and he forced her eyes up to look at him.

"Sweetheart, you're with me, Moony. I'm here for you."

Her breathing became longer and slower, the adrenaline was wearing off and Rosie was beginning to become more aware of her surroundings. She was on the floor, in Moony's arms and he was obviously in a great deal of pain. Gasping for air, Rosie sat up further, leaning onto him for support.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She breathed.

"It's ok, you're ok." Moony soothed.

"I don't like this office." Rosie admitted weakly.

"I got that. Loud and clear Rose." Her breath was evening out. She was now leaning against him completely of her own volition.

He ran his hands through her hair and stroked her arm.

Severus watched from the doorway smirking. The wolf had figured it out after all. He debated going into the office but decided against it. This victory would be Lupin's, and hopefully this evening would allow the child an opportunity to trust in someone other than himself.


	27. Chapter 27

As the adrenaline wore off, a heavy shame settled in Rosie's chest. She had made a complete fool of herself that day in front of both Severus and Moony. At least Severus was used to her now, but Moony… she barely knew him.

Lying there with him on the floor, both breathing heavily, and both returning to a state of calmness, Rosie wanted nothing more than to erase what had just happened.

She brought herself into a sitting position and Moony followed suit until they were facing each other once more.

"I'm really sorry Moony." Rosie breathed, her voice was still shaky.

The man was obviously exhausted but he did not look phased by what she'd said.

"It's alright Rose." He replied calmly.

Moony stood up and stretched out his hand for her to take it. She did, and he led her over towards the couch to sit down. The room was still unpleasant, but the panic that Rosie had felt just moments ago had ceased. It was as if she had to lose control in order to gain it.

As Rosie sat, Moony prepared them each a cup of tea. He did not say anything, maybe he was allowing her time to clear her mind. When he finished, he handed her the steaming cup and sat down next to her on the sofa. Rosie allowed the warmth of the tea to sweep through her whole body as she focussed on steadying her breathing.

"My dear, might I ask what happened? Without upsetting you of course." Moony's voice was slow and soothing.

Rosie wanted to wring her hands together, but the cup of tea was still firmly in her hands.

"I… erm… I had a fight with Severus earlier." She stuttered out.

It was not a lie, but she knew that she was not ready to tell him the whole truth.

"Ah…" Moony sighed, it looked as though he was trying to put the pieces together in his mind.

"And, your fight with Severus made you feel this way?" He asked.

"Not just that… I just don't like coming to this office, and he made me come for detention, and I just can't be in here." Rosie trailed off, her voice was erratic.

"What is it about this office that makes you so upset? Did something happen here?" Moony pried for more information.

"I can't talk about it." She muttered, looking down.

"Rose… can I tell you a secret?" He asked her seriously.

"Of course." Rosie replied.

"When I was a little boy, something very frightening happened to me… and it has haunted me my entire life. So, I understand if you are not ready to talk yet… but I want you to know that I am always here. I know you have Severus, I understand that, but in case you need a fresh pair of ears, I'll be here."

"Thanks, Moony." She gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry you were hurt." Rosie added, and she reached out her hand and stroked his arm.

"Thank you my dear. You know… your father, he had both good and bad qualities, as we all do… but he was there for me in a time when I didn't have anyone else."

"He was?" Rosie asked gingerly.

"Yes. We called ourselves the marauders…" He went on. "Myself, James, Sirius, and another boy… Peter."

"Sirius Black?" She clarified.

"Yes. Sirius Black. I like to think that you and I are the last remaining marauders Rose."

"Me?"

"Yes you. You're James' daughter, his only child, and I know he would be so proud of the person you have become."

Rosie grinned at his words and then asked, "Professor, what happened to Peter?"

Moony cringed. "He was killed shortly after your parents."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Never you mind Rose dear."

"I guess I didn't really understand the amount of damage that Voldemort did… you know, because I wasn't there. When I met him in my first year, he was so fragile..."

Moony spit out his tea. "I'm sorry Rose, did you just say that you met Lord Voldemort in your first year?"

"Yeah… He was living on the back of our defense professor's head. He had the professor trying to steal the philosopher's stone, but Ron, Hermione, and I went to retrieve it instead and we ran into them." She explained.

"How did you survive?" Moony gasped.

"Erm… Professor Dumbledore said that it was because my mother died for me… Voldemort couldn't touch me, and when I touched Professor Quirrell, he kind of melted."

"He melted?"

"Yes, and then Voldemort's ghost thing ran away." She finished. Moony's eyes were wide.

"So, what your saying Rose is that I am a very lucky man to be able to meet you again."

"I guess Professor." She smirked. "I'm not very good at dying."

"That's a very good trait to have."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure." Rosie whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind… she frowned."

"Well, I suppose you've served enough time in detention tonight Rose, why don't I walk you back to your dorm? You must be exhausted."

Rosie thought that Moony looked like the one who was tired. The dark circles under his eyes were pronounced and he looked generally sickly. She had the urge to stay and care for him, but instead, she let him walk her back to the dorm, arm in arm, and she hugged him goodnight.

Entering into the common room Rosie was surprised to find Ginny waiting up for her. The girl had a cup of hot chocolate and a book, and when she came in through the door, Ginny smiled widely.

"There you are!"

"Hey Gin! I'm so sorry I've barely been able to see you all day."

"It's ok, where were you Rosie? I made Ron and Hermione go to bed, but they were worried."

"Detention." She giggled in response. "I hexed Malfoy."

"With Snape?"

"No, that's not a real detention." She winked. "I was with Professor Lupin."

"What is up with that guy anyways? You meet up with him a lot."

"He was best friends with my dad…" Rosie told her.

"You're joking? That's amazing Rose! Now you have Snape to tell you about your mother and Lupin can talk to you about your dad. It's perfect."

"Yeah it's pretty great. Guess what? Severus said that he'd sign my Hogsmeade permission form!" Rosie exclaimed.

"That's so exciting Rosie, I wish I could go with you!" She cried.

"Next year! Hey, I wanted to ask, how have you been holding up with all these dementors running all over the place?" Rosie asked.

"Oh… well, I guess I have been a bit down since being back… but I'm coping." Ginny shot her a small smile. "I don't like to hear him talking to me in my head, but I hear it anyways all the time, so not much has changed."

"Gotcha." Rosie replied.

"How are you coping?" Ginny returned the question.

"I told Severus that I hated him today."

Her friend's eyes widened. "That well eh?"

"Pretty much yeah." She grimaced.

"Did you apologize?"

"No, I haven't yet. It was right before my detention, I will tomorrow."

The girls sat for a few more moments talking, and then decided that they would head to bed. Rosie tossed and turned all night. She felt like she had some unfinished business to attend to. At around five in the morning, Rosie realized that any more effort to sleep was only going to exhaust her more, so she got up and dressed early, and began the walk down to the dungeons.

She had to apologize to Severus. When she arrived at the familiar door, she opened it without hesitation. The man was not in his office, which could mean that he wasn't awake, or it could mean that he was out. Rosie decided the lay on the couch in there until he came back.

Severus awoke early. He was supposed to meet Albus in his office at five thirty to discuss any progress on Sirius Black.

Unfortunately, there had been very little progress on Severus' end. Lupin was too weak to be aiding his former friend… though Severus also had believed him too spineless to visit Rose, so it was still worth looking into. Aside from that, Severus had no ideas.

Opening the door to his chambers, he came to a halt. On his office couch was Rose Potter, curled up fast asleep. Beside her, with his hand on her leg, was Albus.

"Good morning Severus. I see that young Miss Potter beat me to you today." He smiled.

Severus groaned. "I was not aware that she was speaking to me." He responded.

"Did something happen?"

"I made her attend a detention in the defense office last night."

"Ah… I can understand Rose's frustration with that."

"Yes, well. She should not have hexed Mr. Malfoy."

"I seem to remember a young boy who had a reputation for hexing his enemies in the school corridors." Albus' eyes twinkled.

"Are you referring to myself or Potter?" Severus snapped back.

"I'm referring to both of you Severus. The girl has it in her genes, but you mustn't be so quick to judge."

"Are you saying I shouldn't punish the child?" He sneered.

"I do not condone fighting in the halls… but I do think that your punishment might have been … harsh my boy. She is a child after all."

"A child who is in the process of learning that every argument does not need to involve violence."

"You sound like her father Severus. I'm sure James Potter is rolling over in his grave."

"I am not her father Albus, but somebody has to teach the child."

"You do care very much for her though." Albus affirmed.

"Apparently not enough."

"Why would you say that?" The headmaster asked, his tone disbelieving.

"She asked me to be her guardian, and I told her no."

"Did you explain to her the reason why you refused?"

"Vaguely… but she did not understand."

"Maybe you should consider telling her the truth about your part in the war Severus."

"Albus she is thirteen years old, I am sure she would not comprehend it."

"Is it that my dear boy? Or are you afraid that she would reject you if she knew?" Albus prodded him.

"Enough Albus. This conversation is over."

"As you wish, but remember, in a game of secrets, nobody comes out victorious." He cautioned.

With that, Albus took his leave. Their conversation about Black would have to wait. When Severus was alone in the office with the child, he considered waking her, but realized that she must still be exhausted from the previous night. Instead, he sat at his desk grading papers. He heard her stir after about a half an hour.

She sat up and groaned pushing her Potter hair off of her face.

"Professor?" She called out. Severus rose from his desk and sat beside her on the couch.

"Good morning." He nodded towards her.

The silence was deafening. The child stared at him as if she were searching for words.

"Are you OK?" He asked her.

"I don't know." She replied, shrugging.

Severus closed his eyes, then he opened them again,

"Come here." He directed, opening his arms slightly.

Severus was not aware of another time in his life that he had initiated a hug.

Sure, Lily had hugged him, but that was always of her own volition. Rose did not hesitate before throwing herself into him, she wrapped her arms around his torso and hung on. Severus reciprocated and held her to him. It felt strange, but not unpleasant. Almost immediately, the girl began to cry on him.

"Severus I'm so sorry I don't hate you, I was just scared and upset."

"I know child. I was not cross with you. You just frustrate me. I try to teach you not to use violence but you disregard me at every turn." Severus explained.

"I know, but I didn't understand what Malfoy was saying about my mother, and I just hate not knowing. It made me so angry."

"What did he say?" Severus questioned, leaning back into the couch allowing the child to rest herself on him. "He asked me if she really bled mud when she died. Then Goyle called her a Mudblood."

Severus stiffened. He was sure the girl had noticed. "It's bad isn't it?" She asked him innocently. His mind flashed back to his fifth year… he had called Lily the exact same name… Cringing, Severus wracked his brain for words to explain to the girl what it meant.

"Rose…" He started. "Mudblood is a derogatory term in the wizarding world for a person who is muggleborn. It is in reference to dirty blood, as opposed to pure blood."

"Muggleborn, like Hermione then?"

"Yes. Like Miss. Granger, and like your mother."

"Sir, if my mother was a muggleborn and my father a pureblood, what does that make me?" She asked looking up at him.

"The term is half-blood."

"What are you Severus? Were your parents wizards?"

Severus eyes darkened and he turned away from the child so that she would not see.

"My mother was a witch, and my father a muggle." He told her curtly. "You should not pay much attention to people's blood status, it has no bearing on character or magical ability."

"Oh, I know that sir, have you met Hermione?"

Severus wanted to change the subject, these questions were becoming dangerously close to others that he did not desire to answer at this time.

"Tell me child, did you survive your detention in the defense office last night?" This time it was the girl who became tense.

She brought her arms forward to wrap around her stomach, still leaning against him. This behavior, he noted was common when she was remembering unpleasant details.

"It wasn't great." Was all she responded.

"Did you have an outburst?" He asked, know full well that she had.

"Yes."

"Tell me about it." He nudged gently.

"I just walked in and couldn't talk. I didn't want Moony to touch me, I didn't want to be there. I freaked out, and he made me freak out worse, and then I calmed down and we talked."

"But you didn't tell him?"

"I can't." Her voice was strained now. "I can't talk about it."

"Very well. What did you talk about then?" He changed the subject.

"Mostly my dad." Severus made a face. He was determined not to talk about James Potter with Rose. It would not end well.

"Are you comfortable in Lupin's presence then?" He asked her seriously.

"Of course, professor. He is very nice to me."

"Nice or good?" He pushed.

"Good I think." She smiled. "Don't worry though Severus, I still like you best."

Severus cringed again. The girl would not be so fond of him when she inevitably learned of his past. For now though, he helped her up and made sure that she went upstairs to eat before class.


	28. Chapter 28

The next week flew by and Rosie was excited because she had her first quidditch game of the year on Sunday. She had been training hard, and knew that they could win the match against Hufflepuff. The week after the match would be their first Hogsmeade visit. After the evening in detention with Moony, Rosie had been feeling ok.

She always had Lockhart in the back of her mind, but she had been able to focus mostly on her school work and friends for the majority of the week. This made her slightly nervous. It was typical for her to go a while without problems and then to be thrust back into them quicker than she was prepared to be.

The other thing concerning Rosie right now was Moony. If she had thought that he looked exhausted a week ago, he was positively death walking now. She kept bringing him chocolate and sweets trying to cheer him up, but he remained without energy.

He still taught with vigour, but outside of class, he could barely hold a conversation. Last night, Rosie had even gone to the defense office on purpose to make sure that her professor was alright, but he had not been there.

That day, Rosie had potions, arithmancy, defense, and then transfigurations. In defense class, Moony was late. They waited and waited, but he never came. Instead, Severus showed up to teach.

The class informed the potions professor that they were in the midst of studying Kelpies, but Severus was adamant that they skip further into the textbook. For some reason, her professor decided that today was the day that they would be learning about werewolves.

Rosie was confused, but she respected Severus, so she went along with it.

About half way through the lesson, she got a sneaking suspicion that Severus was trying to send her a message. He had been calling on her to answer constantly, which was out of character. Typically, he left her alone in classes. However, that day, he seemed especially concerned with Rosie's ability to tell the difference between a regular wolf and a werewolf.

Talking about werewolves just made her remember Lockhart's strange false stories that he had put in her mind. He said that he'd fought one. Rosie did not understand what he was trying to say until he started discussing the characteristics of people inflicted with lycanthropy.

Severus described someone who had a hard time finding work, was often isolated, was of low energy that got progressively worse as the month went on.

Basically, Severus had looked her in the eyes and described Moony. Hermione picked up on it as well because in the middle of his speech her friend nudged her arm and passed her a note.

 _Rosie is he talking about P. Lupin?_

Rosie was confused. If Moony was a werewolf, why wouldn't Severus have just told her in private?

It didn't need to be this big production. It kind of made sense, who on earth would have the moon as their boggart if not a werewolf?

Rose felt like Severus was doing this so that she would find out about Moony, but she also suspected that he wanted everyone to put the pieces together. Why else would he teach an entire class on it?

Feeling a bit annoyed on Moony's behalf, as soon as Hermione passed her the note, Rosie stood up from her seat and walked to the front of the room. She could feel the weight of the collective stare on her back.

Quickly, Rosie took out the note from Hermione and handed it to Severus, glaring at him as she did so, then she turned and walked out of the classroom.

She stalked down towards the great hall deciding to go out for a walk. On the way, she tucked a couple sandwiches from the tables into a cloth and brought them out with her.

Rosie felt like she might be out there a while. Still brooding, Rosie reached the black lake and decided to stop and have a seat under the big tree. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a flash of black move from behind a bush.

"Hello?" Rosie called.

No answer. She waited, and nothing happened. Taking out the cloth that she had wrapped the sandwiches in, Rosie made to open it.

Suddenly, as if he could sense the presence of the food, a large black dog came sauntering over towards her from the spot in the bushes that had rustled. Rosie smiled, she loved dogs.

"Hi there." She said again motioning for him to come closer.

Reaching out her hand, she tested to make sure the dog was friendly. He sniffed her hand and then licked it.

"Ewe!" I was just going to eat! She giggled.

The dog looked at the food and let his tongue hang out. He was salivating.

"Are you hungry?"

The dog whimpered softly. Rosie could eat later she decided. Holding out the sandwiches towards the pup, she watched with enthusiasm as he gobbled them down.

"Come sit with me." She commanded, motioning for him to stay.

The dog gave her a strange look, it was almost like he wanted to speak… but he came over and laid next to her. Before Rosie knew what she was doing, she began to vent her annoyance to the canine.

"You know, I don't know why Severus wouldn't just tell me in person that Moony is a werewolf." She spat.

The dog's ears perked up and he turned to look at her. "I don't know how he wanted me to react, or if he thought I would be upset."

"Maybe it's because I was raised by muggles. What do you think?" She gave the dog a meaningful stare.

"Of course, you have no idea. What does it matter anyways? I love dogs. Werewolves sound just like big dangerous dogs. It's not like he's a werewolf all the time, just one night a month."

"It's kind of like a girl getting her period" Rosie reasoned.

The dog coughed… it almost sounded like a laugh.

"That must be what Moony meant when he said that something had happened to him as a child. I wonder if he is ashamed of it."

Beside her, the dog whimpered. She pat its head and continued in thought.

"Do you think I should pretend that I don't know?" Rosie asked the dog, like he would understand.

It just whimpered again.

"Maybe I should just march up to his office, give him a hug and tell him that I don't care."

The dog began to wag its tail vigorously.

"You think I should do that?" She laughed as she scratched behind his ears. "Noted. Thanks for the advice sweetie." Rosie cooed to the pup.

Taking its head in her hands she smothered his face in kisses and smoothed the fur down its back. "You are just the cutest boy." She doted. "Come around more often, I'll start bringing food when I go out."

Waving goodbye to the dog who seemed to be watching her go, Rosie set off towards the defense office. She was going to confront Moony.

When Rosie arrived at the office, she tried not to pay attention to her surroundings. She bypassed the couch, and the coat hanger and pretended that she was somewhere else.

There was no time for trauma, she was on a mission.

Arriving at the door, which she knew led to the professor's chambers, Rosie knocked loudly.

When she received no answer, Rosie knocked again, and called out,

"Moony, please come to the door, it's important." In her strongest voice.

It took about thirty seconds, but very slowly, the door began to creak open. In front of her stood Moony, but she had not been expecting him to look the way that he did.

Her professor was dressed in blue striped pajamas and it was obvious that he was walking with a limp. His skin was red and blotchy and he looked as though he might collapse.

"Rose, what's wrong?" He croaked, his voice was faint.

"Moony!" she yelled, her eyes stinging.

Rosie lunged forward wrapping her arms around him.

Moony wobbled.

She tried to hold him up, but she was too short. "Please let me help you lie down." Rosie begged pulling him in through the door of his own chambers and helping him settle on the couch.

"I wasn't expecting you to be so ill." She whispered, a few tears running down her face.

"Rose, what are you doing hear?" Moony muttered.

"I came to see you." She confessed, tears now streaming down her cheeks. Her lifted his hand weakly trying to wipe them away but Rosie took hold of it instead.

"Rosie, you shouldn't be here, I might be contagious, I don't want you to get sick." He told her.

"You're not contagious Moony." She stated back, her voice calm.

"Rose?" He questioned, confusion flashed across his face.

"I know what happened to you when you were a child professor." Moony's face contorted in pain and he closed his eyes.

"Oh." Was all that he replied.

She squeezed his hand. His eyes stayed closed, but his face revealed an internal struggle.

"Moony, Severus once told me that I should be wary of people who are nice. He said that just because someone is nice to me doesn't mean that they are a good person. At first, I wasn't sure if you were just nice, or if you were truly good. After how you helped me during detention the other night, well, the next day I told Severus that I thought you were good." She began to explain.

"Rose… listen, I want nothing more than to be good, to you, and for you. I promise I would never hurt you."

"Moony, you didn't let me finish." She chastised him lightly. "I'm not worried about my safety. I was trying to say that I know you are a good person. It doesn't matter if you're a werewolf, a vampire, or a grindylow, I don't care." Rosie emphasized.

"Oh Rosie, I want that to be true, you have no idea how much sweetheart…but I'm dangerous, you have to realize that."

"Moony, you transform one night a month… How dangerous can you possibly be?" she reasoned. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure Severus won't let me anywhere near where you are on the full moon."

Moony's eyes flashed. "Did Severus tell you?" He asked, looking down.

Rosie cringed. "We had a particularly informative lecture on werewolves today in defense." She confirmed. "It was directed at me though. I think Hermione and I were the only ones that got the message. Everyone else was asleep."

"Ah." He replied softly.

Just then, from the open doorway into the defense office, Rosie heard the distinctive voice of her potion's professor. "I thought I would find you here." He drawled, his eyes fixed on Moony. "Hi Severus." Rosie replied evenly.


	29. Chapter 29

"I hope you do not intend to make a habit of leaving my classes child." Severus warned her.

"Well I hope you don't make a habit of exposing people's private secrets in class" Professor Severus." Rosie retaliated, crossing her arms.

"Potter... Rose. I did not expose any secrets, it is not my fault that you and your friend are much more perceptive than the rest of the students in your class."

"Severus Snape do not lie to me. It was rude and cruel and spiteful and it doesn't matter that you don't like Moony. I don't think Moony likes you much either but he's never told me anything about you."

From beside her, Moony raised his hands to his face to cover his expression and groaned.

Rosie patted his arm.

"Rose… it was necessary that you be made aware of Lupin's condition… Merlin knows he wasn't going to tell you himself."

Moony piped up from the couch. "I'm sorry, why was it necessary Severus?" He quizzed. Rosie nodded in agreement.

"Forgive me for not wanting to place you in the home of a dark creature without your full knowledge of the situation." Severus drawled, his tone was sarcastic.

"Place me in the home of…" Rosie trailed off, her eyes widened and she turned to stare at Moony. His expression was hard to read.

"You want Rose to live with me?" Moony asked incredulously.

"I do not have much of a say in the matter. Albus wants her to live with you."

Moony turned to Rosie, "Forgive me sweetheart, it's not that I don't want that, more that anything in the world, but Severus, you are fully aware that I am incapable of supporting even myself financially. I do not see how I could support myself along with a child."

"Luckily, the _Potters_ had the good sense to leave a large inheritance for their only daughter as well as a fund for the child's continued care in the event of their death. The funds will be transferred to you as opposed to the Dursleys."

"Wait. The Dursleys were paid to care for me and they still…" Rosie started at the same time that Moony said, "I cannot accept money from James and Lily."

Severus held out his hand to silence Rose gently. "You are in the will Lupin, and because her previous godfather is no longer in the picture, it was Rose's parents wishes that she be cared for by yourself."

Rosie could tell that Moony had not been privy to any of these discussions.

"Where will she go on the full moon?" He asked slowly.

"For the time being, I will come to collect her and she will stay with me." Severus confirmed.

"Excuse me." Rosie piped up.

"That is of course, if Rose is comfortable with the arrangement." Severus turned to stare at her. "Yes, yes however you guys feel like tossing me around is fine. I have some questions though." She interjected, her voice strained.

"Go on…" Severus drawled.

"The Dursleys were paid to take care of me?"

"Yes." Her professor confirmed. "I can only assume from your level of surprise that the quality of care was not up to standard." He continued.

"That was not exactly the expression that I was going to use, but I guess you could say that." Rosie responded tersely.

"What is your other question Rosie dear?" Moony asked weakly from beside her. She was still on the floor next to him. Severus had come to sit on the arm of another couch in Moony's chambers

"Erm. yeah… who was my original godfather if it wasn't Moony?"

Both men were silent. That was all the answer that Rosie needed. "It was Sirius Black then?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." Replied Severus. "Ok, please, while we are all sharing, what the hell happened with Sirius Black?" Rosie sighed loudly.

"Watch your tone." Severus glared.

Rosie was frustrated now. She turned to Moony and demanded again, "Tell me, please Moony."

"Rose… when you parents found out that He-Who-Must-Not- Be-Named was coming after them, they decided to go into hiding." Moony started.

Severus appraised the other man coldly.

"They used a spell called the fidelius charm to hide their house in Godric's Hollow. However, this charm requires that a secret keeper is assigned. The secret keeper is the only person aware of the location of the house and the only person that can share that location, so, your parents chose somebody that they trusted infinitely."

"Sirius Black." Rosie answered.

"Yes, Sirius Black."

"and…" Rosie stared.

"Well, sweetheart, nobody was aware that Sirius had become a death eater. He was always so against dark magic." Moony cringed visibly.

"I'm sorry, but what on earth is a _death eater_?" Rosie asked. Moony did not answer, he just turned to stare at Severus.

"Severus, what is a death eater?" She directed her question to him now.

Her potions professor's eyes widened slightly.

"Death eater is the name that the Dark Lord used to refer to his followers." Severus' voice was cold as ice.

The atmosphere in the room became quite uncomfortable for a moment. Rosie wasn't sure why.

"Ok, got it. So, Sirius Black is the reason Voldemort found my parents then." Rosie stated blankly.

"Don't say his name." Severus sneered. Rosie put her hands up in surrender. She was grumpy.

"Perfect. So, to sum up this whole conversation, Moony is a werewolf…" he flinched beside her.

"Severus you hate Moony for some reason, so you decided to tell me through your passive aggressive defense lesson, Sirius Black is still after me, and he is the reason that my parents died, and the _dark lord…"_ Rosie mocked Severus. "Picked the silliest name in the world for his followers."

"Rose." Severus warned.

"Ah, also, I get to live with you and Moony this summer. When I'm done being pissed off, I'm sure I'll be very happy about all of that." Rosie barked.

She got up, gave Moony a small kiss on the forehead and glared at Severus. She left through the door to the defense office, and into the hallway.

Rosie had a quidditch practice to attend.

Severus sighed.

"She's not a simple child, that's for sure," Lupin admitted, his voice still soft.

"Are you positive that you will be able to handle her… particular energy in your condition?" Severus sneered down at the wolf.

"I was not the one that she was cross with Severus. You know, there are many things that I could tell that girl… things that would make you feel the way that I do right now…" Lupin threatened. "But I wouldn't." The man added sincerely.

Severus glared back. The wolf spoke again. "I wouldn't because I trust that despite your past, you have her best interests at heart. I only wish that you had extended the same courtesy to me."

"Trust." Severus spat. "Blind trust is what made that girl an orphan in the first place Lupin. I will not make the same mistakes."

The wolf flinched, and Severus stood to take his leave. "I assume you will be well enough to teach your own classes tomorrow." He added. Lupin just nodded, and lay back on the sofa closing his eyes.


	30. Chapter 30

Rosie had not spoken to Severus since the Friday when she had learned about Moony. It was now Sunday, and she had forgotten all about him as she changed into her Gryffindor robes and strapped on her helmet.

It was the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff quidditch match and Rosie was positively squirming with excitement. She stood huddled with the twins on the field, and they were hyping her up.

"You got this Rosie. We believe in you." They cheered as they tossed the quaffle around.

George tickled her and she giggled. Rosie looked up into the stands and saw that Severus was seated next to Dumbledore and was glaring down at the spot where she played with the twins.

He was so moody.

Then again, so was she. As the team prepared their formation, the Hufflepuff seeker came over to introduce himself to Rosie. He stuck out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Cedric Diggory." The boy greeted warmly.

Rosie knew who he was. Cedric was a fifth-year prefect.

"Hello." Rosie said shyly and took his outstretched hand in her own.

"Good luck out there today." He winked and Rosie blushed.

"Thanks, you too." She responded, her voice was soft.

The game began, and Rosie was having a blast. She truly loved flying. The crowds cheered and booed as their respective teams scored, and Rosie searched fixedly for the snitch.

At around the midpoint of the game, Rosie saw it. She the snitch at the same time that Cedric did. They both went for it, skyrocketing upward as quickly as they could, but Rosie's broom was faster.

She almost had a hold of it when she began to feel a familiar chill in the air. Looking down briefly, Rosie realized that several of the school's dementors had begun to circle the pitch. Turning around wildly to look for the snitch again, she came face to face with one of the morose creatures on her right.

Then she was no longer on the quidditch pitch.

Lockhart was on top of her, his breath was sticky and warm. He was holding her arms down, and she was lying on her stomach.

She cried out as he penetrated her.

Rosie could barely breathe; her face was stuffed into the throw pillow on the sofa. Tears wet her cheeks, but she couldn't even gain enough momentum to struggle.

He was too strong.

"Rose" He moaned in her ear, his voice slick.

When she came to, Rosie was not in the sky. She opened her eyes to find that she was in the familiar queen-sized bed that had been her safe spot since she first found out about Lockhart.

Severus must have brought her here she thought. She wondered how long had passed since the game. Sitting up slowly, Rosie found herself mumbling, "Severus?"

The potions master sat outside the open door to his bedroom waiting for the girl to wake up. He heard her stir from the other side, and call out his name.

Within an instant, he was beside her, helping her settle into a sitting position.

"Breathe deeply Rose." He instructed the girl.

"What happened?" She turned to him, her expression was dazed.

Severus tried to control his anxiety. The entire school including himself had just watched with bated breath as the girl fell two hundred meters off of her broom. The only reason that she was still alive was because Albus never panicked. Even Severus had frozen in that moment.

"You fell." He reported shortly.

"The dementor was right next to me." Her breathing was becoming erratic.

"I know."

The girl crossed her arms across her stomach again and brought her knees up to her chest curling into a ball. Severus reached out to rest his hand on her back but she flinched.

"Sorry." Rose apologized softly. "I don't want to feel like this anymore. I don't want to have an outburst." She cried, but Severus could tell that is was coming.

Her muscles were tensed and her expression blank.

"Just let it out, you'll feel better child." He instructed her smoothly.

Severus knew how to help her get it out. He wrapped his arms tightly around the girl from behind locking her in. She began to writhe and twist trying to get away from him.

Her mind was lost to the world.

Today, the painting on his bedroom wall flew off of its bindings and crash landed on the floor, splitting in two. Severus learned not to keep important objects in his room anymore. Almost instantaneously, Rose's body softened against him, her breathing became ragged and he could tell that she was done.

"Better?" He asked.

"Yeah." She stuttered out. "Why does it always happen this way?" She asked Severus quietly.

"It seems that your body works itself up to a point or a threshold of no return, the only option for you to regain control is to release the tension that you have built up."

"Are there any other ways to release tension?" Rosie asked him, her green eyes wide and desperate.

Severus cringed. None that he was going to talk with Rose Potter about.

"Unfortunately, I think that for now our best option is the learn to manage the outbursts as quickly and efficiently as we can." He told her.

The girl frowned.

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"Will you just sit with me for a while?" She asked him innocently. "I just want to be close to someone."

Sometimes Severus felt that even Albus might disapprove if he were aware exactly how the potions master behaved with this young child. This was especially true considering Rose's history and his own past with Lily, but for especially those reasons, he found himself once again allowing the child to rest herself on him, taking comfort in the closeness.

Severus could not refuse her when she gave him that look. Merlin, he hoped that the Dark Lord would never return, he did not know how he would navigate the complexity of his relationship with Lily's child, the Girl Who Lived with his service in the Order of the Phoenix.

"Professor…Severus?" Rosie questioned her voice small. Severus nodded at her to continue. "Is there a way that I can learn to… fight off the dementors?

He sighed, seeing this question coming. The Patronus charm was complicated and the girl's magic was unstable.

"There is one charm…" He went on. "But it is very advanced."

"Can you do the charm?" She asked him, her eyes hopeful.

"I can, and so can your Wolf."

"My Wolf? Severus don't be crude." She sighed.

"I'd prefer you teach me sir. No offense to Moony, but I don't want him to see me like that up close and personal again."

"Very well then. You will report to my office on Tuesday evenings." He instructed her.

The girl smiled.

"Though, might I suggest Rose...you are now aware in full depth the greatest shame of Lupin's existence, it might be noted as a kind gesture that you reciprocate and share with him your vulnerabilities."

Rose frowned. "You don't share with me yours sir, and you have seen all of mine." She rolled her eyes.

Severus glared, trust this child to turn the advice back on himself.

"As you wish. Don't tell him a thing then, but do not complain later when you are cross with me and have nobody to turn to." He snapped.

The girl had the audacity to stick her tongue out at him. Severus had never seen a more childish display of antics, but he supposed, what could he really expect from Rose Potter, who was indeed a child.

Rosie had not stayed with Severus the night of her quidditch accident. He brought her up the great hall for dinner and then she had slept in her own dorm room with Hermione fussing over her wellbeing.

The next day, Monday, everybody was buzzing about the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. This trip would be a chance for everyone to take a break from their school stresses. Rosie felt slightly uncomfortable going with Ron and Hermione to the village. She felt as though she might be intruding on something.

When Rosie had mentioned these concerns to Hermione the girl had brushed her off, but Rosie was still unsure. Trips to Hogsmeade, as she was quickly learning, were more often than not opportunities to go out on dates. She supposed that she hadn't quite realized that they were now considered eligible to date at Hogwarts.

It was some sort of social pact, she was learning, that all houses seemed to respect. No first and second years, but third years are fair game for anyone under sixth year to take to Hogsmeade.

This is how Rosie got caught up in her current situation. She had been having breakfast with her friends on Tuesday morning when Cedric Diggory got up from the Hufflepuff table, and approached her.

"Hey Rose, you feeling better?" He asked her, referring to her fall during the match.

"I am, thank you." Rosie replied with a small smile.

"Hey, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?" Cedric shot her a smile. "I could buy you a butterbeer, you know, since it will be your first time in the village."

Ginny tapped on her hand excitedly form under the table, and Rosie's cheeks flushed. Hermione whispered something to Ron that made him turn beat red.

"Yeah, that's sounds like fun." Rosie affirmed, returning Cedric's smile. He nodded, winked and turned back towards his table. As Rosie turned to her friends, and Hermione squealed.

"Rosie! You just got asked to Hogsmeade by Cedric Diggory!" Ginny ogled.

"He is only the most attractive guy in any house." Rosie's insides squirmed.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go with Cedric… but there was still something so grown up about going on a date that she wasn't sure that she was ready for. Plus, Cedric was a fifth year, and he was older than all of the other fifth years.

Everyone, had heard tell of his sixteenth birthday party in the Hufflepuff common room. Not wanting to share her concerns with anyone, Rosie just smiled and blushed along with her friends.

That evening she knew that Severus would be expecting her for Patronus lessons. After dinner, Rosie went up to change into something comfortable mentally swearing to herself that she would not mention or think about anything regarding this date with her potion's professor.

Somehow, she knew he would not approve.


	31. Chapter 31

Severus was waiting for Rose in the potion's office, his arms crossed. She was right on time, as usual, but the girl seemed nervous about something, not jumpy, just on edge.

"Good evening." He greeted slowly. "Is everything alright?"

The child smiled and nodded her head, "Yup, all good professor." Severus was not convinced.

"Very well. I am going to teach you the charm first without the presence of a dementor, then, I will have the wolf loan us a boggart, so that you can practice with that. I see no use to us beginning with the boggart. It will needlessly upset you."

"Why do you keep calling him the wolf?" Rose asked with a glare.

"Why do you keep calling him 'Moony' when his name is clearly Remus?" He countered, smirking.

Severus knew why. He'd heard that nickname so many times in his life it was a miracle that the girl had never questioned what it meant. The child deepened her glare.

"Frowning will not help you produce a Patronus."

"Ok, fine, then how do I make one?"

She was so naïve.

Her attitude took him back to a different time, to a different set of green eyes. Rose came to sit next to him on top of the desk that he was leaning on.

"The first step is to think of a happy memory."

"What kind of happy memory?" She asked.

"One that is pure elation, nothing that is clouded with other emotions."

"Ok…" She responded, closing her eyes for a minute. "Got one."

Severus nodded and then put his wand down. "Now, the charm moves in a circular motion like this…" He demonstrated with his hand, "and then the incantation is _expecto patronum."_

"Ok, ok, I'll try." Rose sounded confident.

She closed her eyes again and did the motion flawlessly, the incantation falling clearly off her tongue.

The barest of mists shot out from the end of her wand. It was something at least.

"Were you concentrating on the memory?" He asked her.

"Yes!"

"What memory did you use?"

"Um, when Hagrid told me that I was a witch." She responded smiling.

"Did you feel anything else in that moment?"

"Well, I was kind of cross with the Dursleys for hiding it from me."

"Uh huh. Try to think of one that is pure, not mixed with any other emotions."

Rose was silent for a long time. "I can't think of one." She finally admitted.

Severus' brow furrowed. The girl obviously wasn't trying hard enough, even he had a happy enough memory to produce a patronus.

"What about something from when you were a young child?" He prompted. "Our emotions tend to be purer then." That is where he himself had to draw from.

"I set a snake on my cousin once."

"I doubt that will work. How about your visits from Lupin?" Severus pushed.

"Yeah, I guess I could try that." She nodded.

"Expecto Patronum" The girl said sweetly, her wand motion impeccable once again.

This time, a small wall of mist exploded from her wand.

"Much better." He congratulated.

He had her repeat the same wall of mist several more times until it grew slightly and then he called the lesson to an end.

"That was a good first effort. I want you to keep looking for stronger memories this week, can you do that?"

"Ok Sir." The child was very agreeable that night.

Severus pulled from his robe pocket the signed Hogsmeade form for her and handed it over.

"I expect you to be wise and make sane judgements while you are outside of Hogwarts grounds." He cautioned.

"If you are ever in need of help, there is a pub called the 'Hog's Head.' The barman is the Headmaster's brother."

Rose nodded and reached up from her spot on the desk to give him a quick hug before jumping down.

"Thanks Severus. You're the best."

The week passed quicker than Rosie would have liked. She was nervous for her date. Not having a mother meant that she had never had anyone explain this to her and not having a father meant that she didn't really have a scary parental figure to keep boys in check.

It was not common knowledge that Severus was Rose's guardian, and let's face it… nobody was intimidated by Moony.

When Saturday came, Hermione and Ginny helped her get dressed. She left her hair down and long, and put on a pair of muggle jeans and an oversized knit sweater. Rosie wasn't one for dramatics.

Her friends tried to persuade her to wear a dress, or put a bow in her hair, but she didn't want to lie to Cedric about who she was. Plus, he asked her out on a date after only seeing her in a uniform for three years.

Ron and Hermione were planning to go off to some strange café with a French sounding name. Rosie walked with them down to the entrance hall and then they took off together down the path leaving her in wait.

"Hey Rose!" She heard Cedric before she saw him coming up behind her on the path.

He grinned and draped his arm around her shoulders right away like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Rosie didn't flinch away. Instead, she smiled back.

As they walked, Cedric talked. He made it very easy to keep up the conversation.

"That's a lovely locket." And he reached out to touch it.

"Thank you! It was a birthday gift from Severus." Rosie said. She realized that Cedric had no idea why Severus would give her a birthday gift when he blanched.

"Wait… Like Severus Snape? I thought he was famous for hating you." The boy laughed.

"He's kind of my guardian right now." She giggled back, "But yes, he did hate me."

"What happened to make him like you?

 _Oh, I was raped by our defense professor for half of last year._ Rosie answered in her mind first.

Instead, she shook her head and said, "I got sick last year, and he was ordered by the Headmaster to take care of me."

"Wow, well then I guess I should be extra careful about what I say to you then." Cedric winked and chuckled.

Rosie laughed too. The boy was really skilled at putting her at ease. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice when they passed the dementors. Cedric took her to the Three Broomsticks and bought them both butterbeers.

Rosie liked it a lot. He asked her tons of questions about school, her friends, and about her interests. She learned that he was the only son of Amos Diggory, and that his mother had died in the first war alongside Rosie's own parents. Learning that made her feel closer to the boy.

As he was in his OWL year, she asked him what he wanted to do when he finished school and he told her that he liked the idea of being an Auror, which is why he kept taking potions class even though he despised Professor Snape.

Rosie giggled when he mentioned that.

"Yeah, he's a bit prickly at first." She offered.

"A bit? I do like the new defense professor though, what do you think?" He asked.

"Well… I'm biased because he is going to be my guardian come summer, but I think he's pretty great."

"What? You basically own the school then."

"I suppose so." She replied with a wink.

Cedric took her all over Hogsmeade, to the joke store and the candy store, and when they finally headed back up to the castle dusk was beginning to set over the grounds. This time, when they passed the dementors Rosie shivered, she could hear herself screaming inside of her mind and she began to feel that familiar pain.

She hugged her arms around her chest pretending that she was cold. Cedric grabbed both her arms and rubbed them like he was trying to warm her up. Just before they reached the gate, the boy spun her around until she had her back to a side wall. Their faces were just inches apart.

Rosie's breathing was becoming ragged. She was still thinking about the dementors and the memories that were now sitting forefront in her mind, the tension building up in her body. She could not do this here.

Cedric closed the gap between them his lips meeting hers and suddenly the icy chill of the dementors was forgotten.

The boy moved to pull away after a moment but Rosie stood on her toes and brought her lips to his once again. His eyes widened in surprise but he gleefully continued, his tongue exploring her mouth.

Hands travelled down her back and his body was pressed up against her. The adrenaline worked its way through Rosie's system and she only allowed him to fall with her further into the moment.

When he began to move himself against her Cedric pulled away, his chest heaving.

"Rose, we should stop before…" He trailed off and his face fell into a lopsided grin.

"You're right" she said… but all she wanted was to keep going.

The earlier tension long gone, they walked into the castle, said their goodbyes, and left towards their respective dormitories. Rosie's face was still etched in a grin when she arrived at the portrait hole.


	32. Chapter 32

Rosie had been feeling increasingly guilty. That evening in her Patronus lesson, she sat on the desk as usual, but her heart was not in it.

Her mind was weighted down with the thought of her frequent broom closet encounters with the fifth year Hufflepuff.

It wasn't that she regretted snogging Cedric, it was that she knew it had to be a secret, and so, even though it felt good, Rosie still felt bad about it.

Severus wouldn't understand.

The adrenaline that she felt when her and the boy were together was something new for her, it was something that made her feel in control.

Severus could tell that something was wrong with her, she knew it because he called off the lesson as soon as Rosie had walked in the room. Today was the day that they were supposed to practice with the boggart but she knew that he wouldn't let her if he suspected that there was something wrong.

"In lieu of today's lesson, I would find it most agreeable if you would share with me whatever is on your mind…" Severus drawled.

She was not good at lying to her professor, so, she decided to tell a half truth.

"It's nothing you would be interested in sir. It's just some stuff with my friends."

"What kind of _stuff_? He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…" She started. "Ron and Hermione have been an unofficial couple now for a while and Hermione has been asking me her opinion on whether or not they should be, you know _… physical_ , and I don't know what to tell her." Rosie spat out hastily.

The scenario sounded fake, because it was, but she blushed anyways. She hoped that the awkward subject would be a deterrent for Severus and that he would just drop it.

Watching as her professor visibly cringed, Rosie realized that the plan was working.

"Rose… I am of the opinion that at your age there should be absolutely no contact of that _nature_ aside from innocent hand holding." He stated curtly.

"You are all children, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley should find other activities to occupy their time."

"What if they did already you know… snog and stuff, should I tell her to stop?" Rosie pressed, now masochistically curious about Severus' opinion.

This time it looked like the potions master shuddered.

"Those types of experiences should be saved for someone special, and there are consequences involved when they are experienced at a young age." He was visibly uncomfortable.

"Like what type of consequences?" She asked.

"Well, imagine that one day Granger and Weasley break up, they will have to admit to their next partner that they did not wait for the right person to have those experiences with."

Rosie flinched. She could feel the hurt flash across her face. She had done that and much more with Professor Lockhart… and now she had been snogging Cedric.

Wrapping her arms around her waist, Rosie looked down. Realizing what he had said, Severus stood up and came to face her where she sat on the desk.

"Rose…I'm sorry. I should not have said that." He apologized, his voice sincere.

"I'm never going to have that am I?" She asked him, her eyes wide. "I'm never going to be able to say that I waited for a special person."

Severus sighed and closed his eyes. "Child… nobody in their right mind would hear what happened to you and think that it was on purpose."

"And what if I don't want to tell them? Then I'm just lying all the time, pretending I haven't done something when I have" She cried, her eyes stinging now.

Her professor nodded solemnly. I know and I am truly sorry that he took that from you."

"Does that mean people will want me less?" Rosie whispered quietly.

Severus' face contorted in horror. "No. Do. Not. Ever. Say. That." He growled and she flinched.

"You are every bit as valuable as any other girl your age, do you understand me?"

"But professor, you just said…"

"I know what I just said, and it was wrong. It was old fashioned and it was wrong. I was not thinking."

"Are you sure Severus?" Her voice was meek.

"You are perfect exactly the way you are and with any experiences that you bring to the table, no matter what you do or what happens to you. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." She wiped away her tears. "Thanks for saying that."

"Never doubt it." His voice was authoritative.

"Erm… Severus, if we aren't doing my patronus lesson today, do you think you could show me yours? You know… so I can see how it's supposed to look." Rosie changed the subject.

Rosie knew that Severus felt just guilty enough for what he had said to humor her. With a quick circle of his wand, what was only mist for her, came out as silver light for her professor.

The light quickly shaped itself and changed its form into the beautiful figure of a doe. It did a graceful circle around the room before disappearing as swiftly as it had appeared. Rosie smiled.

"Wow… Sir that was amazing." She marvelled. "Are patronuses always in the shape of does?"

"No, they are not. The patronus takes the form of an animal that most represents your individual idea of a protector."

That idea was puzzling to Rose because while Severus might be a doe in his heart, she would have pegged him for something different… maybe a dragon or something.

She could not imagine why Severus would feel protected by a small woodland creature.

"What do you think mine will be?" She grinned.

He furrowed his brows and thought for a moment. "I would imagine a stag."

"Why?" Rosie asked innocently.

"That was your father's patronus." Was all that Severus offered.

Rosie thought for a minute… that didn't really seem right. She did not connect her father with the idea of protection, despite how badly she wanted to.

"Sir… I don't really think of my dad like that, I mean, I wish I did, but I've never met him." She sighed.

Rosie quickly folded her hands and looked up to the sky…

"Please forgive me daddy." She said softly.

When she looked back at Severus his face was stricken.

"Child, I'm certain that there is very little that you could do that James Potter would not forgive you for."

Rosie's eyes widened. "Did you really just say that?" She asked with a small smile.

"Rose. Regardless of my hostility towards your father, you must learn to create your own perceptions. The man did die for you."

"I remember thanks." Rosie shot back glaring.

"You remember?" He asked, shocked. It reminded her of Moony for a second.

"It's the only memory I have of them…"

Something dark flashed across Severus' face, and then he gave her a meaningful look.

"Will you show me the memory?" He asked, his eyes were pained.

This was the most vulnerable she had ever seen him. Rosie wasn't sure if she was ready to handle a vulnerable Snape.

"No." Rosie's voice was steady but her insides were not.

She had never refused him anything before but she felt like it would be worse to see him react to her mother's death. They had obviously been good friends.

Her professor's face hardened again. "I should not have asked." He turned around taking his gaze from her.

When Severus dispatched her from the office, it was just on time. She had told Cedric to meet her upstairs by the fourth-floor corridor broom closet. Now Rosie was thankful that she had.

That meeting had been far more intense than any session with a boggart would have been.

Rosie needed to unwind.

"Hey stranger." Cedric greeted her from the right and she winked back.

They kind of had a routine now and talking was not really part of it.

As Rosie's lips came up to meet his, he opened the door of the broom closet and guided her inside eagerly. With each new touch and new kiss, Rosie heard her own voice in the back of her head,

 _"Does that mean people will want me less?"_ but every time it resurfaced, she squashed it down, pulling the boy closer.

She tried to keep Severus as far from her mind as possible. Even though he had said that it didn't matter what she did… Rosie knew that it would if he had known what she had really been thinking. He would not approve. Squashing that from her mind as well, she concentrated on the body against hers.

Cedric was panting now, there was a hunger in his eyes that Rosie was sure was mirrored in her own. Instinctively, the boy's hands travelled up her shirt, resting on her bra exploring her chest with his hand. It was then that he suddenly froze and pulled away.

"Rose, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" but before he could finish, she had lunged forward again trapping him in another long kiss.

Before she realized what she was doing, her hands snaked around his waist, around his belt and she began to fumble with it. Cedric broke away again.

"Rose, are you sure?" His voice was anxious. "I don't want to hurt you, we should stop."

Guilt crept up her spine and flooded into her face. Did she really want to do this in a broom closet with Cedric Diggory?

The white-hot pain of her last encounters was etched into her brain, the fear and the screaming. Rosie could feel the tension building up inside of her belly.

"Please Cedric." She pleaded with him, winding her arms around his neck again.

Just as the boy threw himself once again into the passionate kiss, her body pressed against his, the door to the broom closet swung open and the light was turned on.

"Miss Potter." She heard, recognizing instantly the person who had found them.

Her face burned red and Cedric moved himself away from her as quickly as possible, but his belt was still half undone.

"Hi Moony." Rosie replied, her whole-body recoiling in embarrassment.

Moony turned to Cedric, his face completely neutral.

"Mr. Diggory, I think it is best that you return to your common room."

Cedric nodded, his neck was bright red with shame. He shot her an apologetic glance and took off down the hallway. It was then that Rosie remembered that he was a prefect.

She turned to look at the professor who was to be her guardian.

"Moony…" She started.

"Come along with me Rose." He interrupted her.

Rosie followed him down a flight of stairs towards the defense office. He did not speak. Her head hung low. When they arrived at the office, she felt the familiar withdrawal of her body telling her not to enter, but it was easier to ignore now.

Moony motioned for her to sit down on the couch and he started some tea. Handing her the hot cup, he did not sit next to her this time, but across in a different chair. The silence was uncomfortable. Rosie could not take it anymore, so she spat out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Please don't tell Severus!"

"I assumed that he was not privy to your nighttime antics." Moony said seriously.

"Please Moony, he wouldn't understand he would be so cross with me." She was desperate.

"And why should I understand?" He asked.

"Moony. I…" She trailed off.

"Rose. Cedric Diggory is sixteen years old. He is three years older than you. If he's pressuring you to do something that you don't want to do, you need to let me know."

"He is not!" Rosie was firm.

"Rosie, sweetheart, I saw what you were doing… sometimes older boys might have different expectations than someone your age might have." He was obviously trying to be comforting.

"Moony, I know what he wanted, trust me, I was the one pressuring him."

"Honey, I'm just worried for you. I don't want you to do that in a broom closet for the first time with a boy you barely know."

Rosie flinched. "Well then you'll be happy to know that it wouldn't have been my first time then and that Cedric is plenty nicer than the last one." Her voice was clipped.

Moony's eyes widened. "What do you mean nicer than the last one Rosie?

Panic began to creep into her chest. She did not want to get into this.

"Nothing Moony, please just drop it." His face remained anxious.

"Rose, sweetheart, listen to me. I can hear that something is wrong. Having sexual experiences when you are not ready for them can be really damaging later on." He tried to reason with her.

"I know that!" She cried and her eyes began to sting.

"Then please, talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

"I can't Moony! I can't talk about it!" The tears began to fall now.

"Rosie… please try. For me." He stood up and knelt in front of her placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You'll never look at me the same again." She sobbed.

"Hey hey, where would you get that idea?"

"Because it's sick and disgusting!"

Moony looked at her solemnly. "There are many that would say that I am sick and disgusting as well…" He trailed off.

"You have not treated me even an ounce differently since finding out my secret, I would have no right to treat you any different."

Moony stroked her face wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"Last year, two evenings a week, every week, for four months, I had detention with my last defense professor in this office." Rosie started.

Confusion passed across Moony's face. "That's a lot of detention sweetheart, but what does that have to do with why you're upset?"

Rosie squeezed her eyes shut and flinched.

"You asked me what I meant when I said that Cedric was a lot nicer than the first one."

Moony nodded.

"Well… _he_ was the first one. Right here, on that couch." She breathed gesturing to the sofa behind her.

Her professor's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up.

"You mean to tell me that your last defense professor forced you to…"

Rosie just nodded before lunging forward and burying her face into Moony's robes hiding her shame.

He caught her expertly and let out the breath that she knew he'd been holding in. There was a long pause. Rosie didn't cry, she just hid her face. Moony held onto her without speaking. His scent was comforting as usual as she buried herself into the crook of his neck.

"Rose… I don't know what to say." He admitted quietly.

"He used a memory charm on me so that I would forget… but it started catching up with me. I didn't know what was going on, so I went to Severus."

"That's why the dementors affect you so profoundly." Moony muttered.

"On the train, that was the first time I remembered for myself."

"Remembered for yourself?"

"Severus got the memories from _him_ , and watched them with me."

"Is this man still alive?" Moony asked her, his voice was strained.

Rosie nodded. "Ok sweetie." Moony was calm as he rubbed circles on her back.

Rosie breathed a sigh of relief. That hadn't been so bad, and now Moony knew. He didn't seem cross with her, or disgusted. He just seemed like normal Moony.

They sat down together on the sofa as Rosie lay against him, she felt herself drifting off to sleep in his arms. He continued rubbing circles on her back until she could no longer remember, and the world turned black.


	33. Chapter 33

Remus sat on the couch with his head in his hands next to the girl as she slept. He had covered her with a blanket and she had not stirred. He was in absolute shock. Barely able to react to what Rose had told him when she was awake, he was doing an even worse job now.

It was hard to believe, to picture what the child told him. Remus had witnessed a lot of evil in his life, but this, this was a different type of evil. It was insidious and vile. Rubbing his temples, he tried to discern what his next steps should be. Obviously, Severus was aware, which meant that Albus knew as well.

There was nothing to be done, Remus was late to the party on this one. He shuddered as Rose shifted in her sleep, picturing her helpless figure beneath some monster crying out for help on this very sofa.

This was the same baby that he had held on the very day that she was born, sworn to protect. This was the child that his best friends had died for and Remus had done absolutely nothing to protect her.

He looked up when he heard a quick knock at the door of the office. Without chance to invite the visitor in, the door opened. It was Severus, Wolfsbane potion in hand and a scowl on his face as usual. When he laid eyes on the sleeping girl next to Remus he stopped in his tracks.

"Lupin, I was not aware that you had a visitor."

Remus just stared up at the man, a pained expression twisting on his face. His eyes were watery. Severus looked from his face to Rose's probably noting the tear tracks that marred the girl's own pale cheeks. It was clear that he was able to determine the source of their mutual sadness because he did not make a snide remark.

Instead, he silently walked over toward Rose's head, bent down, and stroked her cheek, moving a piece of hair out of her face as she slept. Remus had never seen the bat-like man behave so gently with anyone before, not even Lily.

He imagined how James would react, seeing his most bitter enemy so involved with his only child. Lily would be proud. He knew that she had felt the loss of Severus deeply. After a few moments of silence, Severus spoke.

"How did you react? That will be important to her." He asked smoothly.

"I didn't really…" Remus responded. "I just let her talk, you know, let it out until she fell asleep."

"Good." Was all that he responded.

"What can I do?" Remus choked out after another minute had passed.

"Don't change the way that you behave in the slightest. That will be what she will zone in on. Don't bring it up unless she does. If she does bring it up, do not stifle the conversation. Sometimes she asks inane questions about the man, or about sexual intercourse in general in an attempt at reason. Answer them to the best of your ability."

"That's it? Just pretend that it never happened?"

"That is not what I said. Integrate it into your interactions with her, but do not overwhelm. You will know when you've crossed a line."

"Is she afraid of anything physical? Should I avoid touching her, she's never seemed upset before." Remus asked remembering vividly the conditions in which he recovered Rose that evening.

"Quite the contrary. She is starved for healthy physical contact. The girl is not fearful of anyone but herself and the man responsible. Rose is foolish. The best thing that you can do for her is to keep her out of the hands of Sirius Black and anyone else associated with the Dark Lord." Severus finished shooting him a meaningful glare.

Remus raised his eyebrows and turned his gaze towards the man's left wrist.

"Not me you imbecile."

He thought about telling Snape about Cedric Diggory, but Rosie's terrified face passed through his mind. It was apparent that Rose did not feel comfortable with Severus knowing about her exploits.

Remus understood.

Unfortunately for James, the potions master was the closest thing to a father figure that she'd ever had. Snape had said himself that Rose was starved for healthy physical contact, maybe she needed to do this to feel comfortable with intimacy.

Remus didn't want to think about James and Lily's baby having sex, but he also didn't want to be the reason that she couldn't have sex in the future.

Trauma was funny that way.

He resolved to try and keep the discussion open with Rosie, make her feel comfortable talking about it with him and make sure that she was being safe. That sounded a lot more agreeable to him than handing this particular matter over to Severus.

"I'd like you to take the girl on an outing over the Christmas Break." The potions master started…

"An outing? Whatever for?" Remus asked. That came out of nowhere.

"I will not fight with Albus on the matter of Rose's guardianship."

"What does that have to with the holiday break?'

"The child needs to become comfortable viewing you as her parent… more than her professor."

"Severus, I highly doubt that I will ever be Rose's parent, I am by no means an authoritarian figure." He chuckled.

"Be that as it may, if she is to live with you, your relationship must progress." Severus almost snapped.

"I would have expected you to keep her." Remus stated calmly.

"Were that possible, I would not hesitate. However, if there is ever a time in which my particular services… will be of use to Albus once again, it would be absolutely unfathomable that she be in my care." The man's expression was blank.

His eyes widened. Remus did not realize that Severus was intending to continue as a spy for the order in the event of you-know-who's return.

"Ah." Was all that he could muster as a response.

He hoped that day would never come.

Remus had a sudden vision of himself trying to explain to Rose where Snape had gone and cringed.

As if suddenly realizing that he had been in the presence of a werewolf too long, Severus stood and glared at him again. Without so much as a goodbye, he swept from the room. Remus' head fell into his hands again.


	34. Chapter 34

The next day, Rosie wasn't sure how she had gotten back to her dorm bed in Gryffindor Tower but she had. There was a note tucked on the pillow beside her that read,

 _Thank you, Rosie, for the unfaltering confidence that you have placed in me. Know that yours secrets as well as your trust are safe in my hands. – Moony_

She breathed a sigh of relief. Moony didn't hate her, and he wasn't going to tell Severus about Cedric. As soon as the relief settled, shame flooded in.

Moony knew what had happened to her.

She hated that those images would be burned into his brain too. Even though she knew that Severus would never show him Lockhart's memories, Rosie was sure that he would use his imagination.

Quickly contemplating her day, she realized that she did not want to go to class. Instead, she threw on tights and a jumper, left her hair loose, and decided to go for a long walk around the grounds.

She was sure that when she did not turn up for potions, Snape would be all over her, but that still gave her an hour and half for a good walk… maybe two hours if Severus had trouble finding her.

Descending the stairs into the great hall, Rosie let the air out that she'd been holding in when she saw that the potions master was no longer in the Great Hall. Quickly wrapping some sausages in a napkin, she began the trek outside.

When Rosie reached the other side of the black lake, well out of sight, she was pleased to a familiar snout peeking out from behind a large rock.

"Hey sweetie!" She called to the large black dog who had acted as her confidant the last time that she had come out here.

The dog bounded over to her with an exuberance that Rosie only wished she could feel.

He was still skinny.

Unwrapping the sausages, she sat down and held them out to the mutt. Unsurprisingly, he gobbled them down within seconds.

"What a good boy you are." She cooed.

The dog responded to her touch and nuzzled her shoulder.

"I told Moony that I knew about the wolf thing." She relayed.

The dog wagged its tail.

"I still can't believe that he caught me with Cedric in that closet. I wanted to die." Rosie began to rant.

The dog choked on something.

"I just wish it could have been a normal thing. You know? I wish I was just like every other girl and that people wouldn't get suspicious when I act like one."

The canine tipped his head as if to say, "huh?"

"It doesn't always have to turn into 'Oh…. Poor Rosie was defiled by her defense professor all of last year so she can't ever snog anyone or have sex in case she explodes!'" Rose sighed, her voice exasperated and her tone vulgar.

Her mangy friend looked as though he had been passed over by a dementor. His hackles were up and his whole body seemed to be on alert.

A small growl escaped from his mouth.

"What is it boy?"

He just whimpered. The sound was long and low.

Rosie looked around for signs of danger, but she didn't see anything.

"At least he didn't tell Severus. I couldn't bear that." She added.

Rose realized how strange this dog was. It was acting almost uncomfortable, but made no motion to leave her side.

"Honestly, I don't even think that rape is the same thing as sex, I am scared to find out, but I don't think it is.

When I'm with Cedric, you know, I want to." She patted the dog's head trying to relax him.

It was nice to contemplate these things out here alone with nature.

Her companion was still rigid.

"Hey, calm down pup, you're fine." She ran her fingers along the length of his spine.

Rosie stayed there with the dog, entangling her fingers through his long dirty fur until she had fallen asleep against the stone.

Severus was furious. He trudged along the lake path fuming. How dare the girl be so reckless as to cut his class and go exploring. She knew very well the danger that Black posed. After almost half an hour of manic searching, Severus spotted Rose Potter's small figure slumped up against a rock next to some sort of creature.

As he approached, fists clenched, the creature stood. It was a dog, or a grim, Severus was not sure. The grim began to growl menacingly as he moved towards the sleeping child.

"Get out of my way mutt." He snapped and Rose woke up with a start.

Her green eyes widened, but she quickly stood up and held the dog back.

"It's ok Sweetie, it's just Severus." The girl soothed.

Severus sneered.

"What is the meaning of this you insolent, ungrateful, idiot child?" He could feel the rage building up in his system.

The canine growled louder and tried to snap at him.

"Go away!" The girl cried to the dog. "Just run away, please." She pushed the grim away from them and watched as it walked back several feet and then turned around to stare.

"Sever…" but before Rose could utter a word, he interrupted her.

"Do you have any idea how worried we have been? How could you be so selfish, does your life mean nothing to you?" He continued angrily.

"I have Lupin searching the other side of the castle. You have wasted both of our mornings for what? So that you could go on a walk? You're just like your father, you do whatever you want with no regard for anyone else, strutting about he grounds like him, and bound to die like him if you keep this idiocy up."

Pain flashed across the girl's face, through her wide eyes.

The grim had gone, and now it was just himself and Rose alone. His heart clenched as she stared up at him with that expression. Severus had to look away.

"I'm sorry!" She cried, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around him.

With her face buried in his robes, he could barely make out what she was trying to say. Breathing deeply and closing his eyes Severus began to regain his composure. He held the child as she cried into his robes, her tears a product of his cruel words.

James Potter was the one thing that he had promised he wouldn't bring up with Rose and he had done it. Why? Because she had decided to go for a walk to clear her mind the morning after a traumatic evening. Severus truly loathed himself.

They walked back to the castle in silence, but Severus knew that Rose was on the brink of an outburst. Her whole body was rigid as if she were in a body bind, her breathing short and sharp, face twisted with the effort that it took to remain in control.

He had no intention of letting her go off alone once they reached the castle, but as they approached the door, it was made aware that two students were having a physical altercation. Severus put a stop to it, only to turn around and find the girl gone once again.


	35. Chapter 35

Rosie was really messed up. She knew that. One moment she felt like a little girl, crying on and hugging her professor, letting him comfort her, and then next minute she felt the overwhelming urge to snog somebody senseless.

That, was a kind of comfort that Severus could not give her and she was beginning already to feel dependent on that to bring herself down from this heightened state of tension.

She wanted to do it on her own. Rosie did not want to feel like she had to sob and break down every time she got upset. The desire for control led her to seek out Cedric, who she found relatively easily, and to drag him into an abandoned drawing room on the third floor.

"Rose! What in Merlin's name?" Cedric started, but Rosie swooped him up into a fiery kiss before he could say anything more.

He pulled away.

"Woah, hold on one sec. Didn't we just get busted by Professor Lupin last night for this?"

"Yes, it's fine, he wasn't even mad, he's not going to rat me out to Severus."

Cedric's eyebrows shot up, and Rosie tried to pull him closer. This time, he accepted in full fervour. She let his tongue slide easily into her mouth and his hands down her body.

With less hesitation than the previous night, Cedric found himself under her shirt. Rosie took this as an invitation at his belt and it came of without trouble. This was definitely the furthest they had gotten, and the boy's eyes were cloudy with lust.

She could now properly feel his arousal against her.

As he usually did, Cedric pulled back, "Rose, I don't know if I feel right about this. We aren't even dating, and you are younger than me. I don't want to, you know, take your virginity." He coughed out.

Rosie smiled, "Don't worry, you won't be." She confirmed with a wink and his eyes widened with understanding.

"Ok, that makes me feel better." He growled and brought her closer to him once again.

As much as she was encouraging, and enjoying herself, there was still fear lingering in the back of her mind. It was a fear of pain, the searing pain that had left her unable to scream.

She tried to stuff it out of her mind because it was too late to turn back now with Cedric. Trying to relax her body and concentrate on him, Rosie barely noticed when his pants came off, nor hers.

She was masking her nerves with overconfidence, pretending that this was no big deal.

"Please Cedric." She whispered, reassuring him on, squashing every instinct that told her to stop that instant.

He entered her slowly.

Her body stiffened, and he began to move.

Cedric kept kissing her, which helped to take her mind off of how rigid she was. It was painful, but not like before, and with the pain came some semblance of pleasure. The pain eased off after a few minutes and it was replaced by an uncomfortable fullness.

The fullness, combined with a few sporadic releases within her, softened her muscles.

The tension both from her fight with Severus and her nerves had faded. This activity was all consuming. Cedric was obviously enjoying himself which made Rosie glad.

She could tell he was done, because he let out a small grunting noise and collapsed onto her.

"Blimey Rose, that was incredible." The boy whispered in her ear still panting.

"Yeah it was." Rosie lied.

She wasn't lying because it had been bad, but it hadn't been amazing either. Torn between feeling proud to have been able to have sex, and disappointed because it wasn't as nice as she had been hoping, Rosie sat up and they began to get dressed.

The point had been to successfully bring her down from that overwhelming state of anxiety, and for all intents and purposes it had worked. Cedric was smirking.

"Do you want to go get something to eat in the kitchens?" He asked her.

Rosie thought about it and decided that she had been neglecting her friends too much lately. It would probably be better to eat lunch with them.

"It's ok Cedric don't worry about it." She smiled back and touched his chest softly.

He was very handsome. They exited the drawing room and parted ways. Definitely not for the first time in her life, Rose felt liquid trickling down the side of her thighs and rushed to the bathroom to clean it up. When she was done, she headed down towards the great hall for lunch.

Hermione would be cross with her for skipping both potions and arithmancy. Severus would be livid because she had run away from him again.

Merlin forbid he try to read her mind.

On her way down from the third-floor bathroom, Rosie was not looking where she was going and crashed into a familiar body, which knocked her backwards.

"Now you see fit to reappear." Severus drawled, obviously not amused.

She looked up but avoided his eyes scared that he would try to get into her mind. "I'm sorry." Rose mumbled softly. He bent down to meet her eye level and she turned away. Immediately she knew that this was a mistake. He was aware that she was aware of his abilities with legilimency.

"Rose. Please make eyes contact with me." He commanded.

Panicking for a second, Rose suddenly had an idea, and flooded her mind with the image of James Potter. She used the face from the photograph that Moony had found for her, and she tried to project sadness.

Turning to look at him, she could feel the probes of his spell on her mind. He pulled out quickly and Rosie knew that it had worked.

Severus cringed. "I am sorry about what I said earlier. I should not speak badly of your father to you." He confessed, but his nose shrivelled like he even the idea of her father still disgusted him.

Rosie was too distracted to care really.

"I'm sorry for being a pain today." She started… "Did Moony tell you?"

"He did. I am proud of you for disclosing that to him; however, I am still furious with you for the stunt that you pulled today. You need to place a higher value on your own life."

"Yes sir."

"You will serve a detention with Lupin tonight for the time he wasted looking for you."

"Ok sir."

The potions master resumed his regular cold stare and placed a hand briefly on her shoulder before stalking away. Rosie sighed.

That was close.

Guilt began to creep through her like the chill of a dementor. Severus did so much for her to feel better and this is how she repaid him. Somehow, she knew that this secret behavior of hers was going to come back to bite her, it wasn't the right thing to be doing, but she wasn't really sure what was.

Something that she had said when she was with the pup earlier was niggling at the back of her brain. She had made the distinction earlier between rape and sex, which was probably why she felt like she had just lost her virginity.

Rosie spent the better part of lunch being lectured by Hermione. Ginny leaned on her shoulder in support laughing at the lengths that Hermione went through to get her point across.

She caught Cedric grinning at her from the Hufflepuff table several times.

He was so bloody nice.

The rest of her classes passed easily. She had Care of Magical Creatures instead of Defense that day, so Rosie didn't see Moony. When it came time for her detention, she bid farewell to Ginny who had been studying with her in the common room and walked towards the defense office.

To think that she had been so scared to enter just a few weeks ago, now it just took a little extra mental concentration. She had also been terrified to get a pelvic just under a year ago and now look at her.

If Rosie thought that Moony was going to have a regular detention set up for her, she was dead wrong. His idea of a punishment was much much worse than that. The worst part was that she didn't even think that he meant it to be a punishment.

"Hello Sweetheart." He greeted her jovially. "You gave us quite a scare earlier."

"I know, I'm sorry Moony." She hung her head. Rosie was sorry.

"My dear, I wanted to talk to you about something tonight, something of grave importance I'm afraid."

"What's wrong?" She asked him, her voice expressing her nerves.

"Well… I wanted to discuss your activities with Cedric Diggory."

Rosie turned bright red. "Oh please don't Moony. Severus and Professor Dumbledore already explained to me how it all works after what happened last year…" she trailed off hiding her eyes.

"Oh Sweetie, I believe you, but I also don't think that they were expecting you to go looking for sex. I just want to make sure you have enough information to be safe."

She was pretty sure the it would have been impossible for her to be a darker shade of red than what she felt in that moment.

"What do you mean?" Rosie choked out.

"Well, for example, did they talk to you about contraception?"

Rosie furrowed her brows. That was not familiar to her.

"I don't think so…" She confessed.

"Ok, I need you to be really honest with me now honey, have you had sex with Cedric or anyone else?" His tone was very serious.

Rose nodded, blushing deeper. Moony paled.

"Oh Merlin." He started.

"What's wrong?"

"Did Mr. Diggory cast any spells or give you any potions to drink the times that you did?"

She shook her head. Not that she remembered.

"Ok Rosie, we'll get back to that."

"Have you had a menstrual period before?" He asked again.

"Yes…" she responded. "Last summer was the first time."

"Ok." His face was whiter still. "Did you get your menstrual period this month?"

Rosie nodded again.

"Good, okay. Now one more embarrassing question sweetie. When was the last time you had sex?"

She reached up to cover her eyes in shame and groaned.

"Rosie this is really important. I need you to be honest with me."

"Today." She squeaked. Moony groaned now too.

"Why are you asking me all of these questions?"

"Rose, honey, sex had many purposes but one of them is reproduction, making babies."

"Oh yeah. Severus told me that… but he said that I couldn't have been pregnant after what happened…" Rosie frowned.

"Yes. Well, that was because you had never had a menstrual period before darling. Now you have."

Her eyes widened considerably.

"Wait… you're saying that I could be pregnant?" She spat.

"Not if you have gotten your period this month dear, but it is concerning that it happened today because now we will have to wait for your next period to know for sure."

"Oh fuck." She cursed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did nobody tell me this?"

"Relax Rosie, it is highly unlikely that you will be, it is not as easy as it sounds, we will just monitor you, and you will tell me when you do get your period. Sound good?"

Her eyes were wide. "What can I do to stop it from happening?" She asked quietly.

"There is not much you can do about today unfortunately love, but I can teach you a spell for any of your further _encounters_ ok?"

Rosie let him teach her the contraceptive spell, her mind still in a daze. She was going to have to block these thoughts out until next month when her period was due.

It would do no good to dwell on it now. Thank Merlin for Moony she thought to herself.

"Honey, I don't want you to worry alright? There are potions that would be able to make you not pregnant anymore if by chance you were, which I highly doubt you will be."

That made her feel a lot better actually. "I do want to ask you a little bit more about Cedric though if that's alright with you."

She nodded.

"Why do you seek him out? Don't you think that your mind and body would have been able to heal faster if you refrained from that sort of activity?"

"I just want to be normal and in control like everyone else." She admitted.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't want to break things anymore, or cry all the time or scream at people."

"How does Cedric help with that?"

"He brings down my level of stress or tension I guess."

"Interesting. Ok sweetie. Is he your boyfriend?"

"No… he's nice and all but I don't really want a boyfriend just, you know, _that_."

Moony made a face and Rosie wasn't sure if it was a cringe or a small smile.

"Are you angry at me?" She frowned.

"No Rosie, don't be silly, I could never be angry with you."

He stood up and opened his arms as a peace offering, which she gratefully accepted.

"You will always be a little baby to me…" He started, "but I want you to feel comfortable talking to me about anything, yeah?"

She nodded into his robes. "I love you Moony." He pulled her closer.


	36. Chapter 36

The seasons changed very quickly from fall to winter. Rosie woke up a few weeks after her embarrassing talk with Moony, the first day of winter break to be exact, to find that she had indeed gotten her period.

Rushing down to the defense office, she didn't even wait until he was awake to tell him. Instead, Rosie burst into his chambers and woke him up. It was not as embarrassing talking about girl stuff with Moony as is was with Severus.

There had been problems between the potions professor and Rose for the past few weeks. The problems stemmed from the overwhelming game of secret keeping that she was playing.

She had been pulling away from Severus scared that he would read her thoughts. It was also due in part to the fact that Rosie had been using sex to quell her anxiety more and more often now, which cut out the necessity to have Severus around as much.

The biggest problem was though was that she missed him. It was sometimes difficult for her to think of excuses to go down and visit when she was mostly controlling her negative symptoms on her own.

Cedric had been only too happy to oblige Rose's crazy whims, but the pair had never progressed beyond the physical realm of a relationship. The sex had become better.

Rosie would say that the first time together was not a good indicator of either of their sexual abilities. She had begun to enjoy it enough so that the only negative part was the soul crushing shame that she felt in hiding it.

The outbursts had lessoned significantly.

If Severus had noticed the distance that she'd been keeping, he did not mention it. Cedric had gone home for the winter break and so had all of her friends aside from Neville. This was kind of nice because she didn't really get to spent a lot of time with Neville personally so, she was looking forward to getting to know him better.

Moony had promised to take Rosie Christmas shopping on the first day of the winter holidays in Diagon Alley. This meant that after she had happily informed him of the arrival of her period, she had to quickly rush back to Gryffindor tower to get ready.

Pulling on a pair of flattering dark blue robes that Severus had helped her pick out last summer, she pulled her hair up into a quick twist and looked in the mirror.

It was amazing how she had changed in the span of one year. Her breasts had grown, she was taller, and she generally just looked more mature than she ever had before.

Unfortunately, the only mature part about her personality was the persistent sexual prowess. The rest of her had remained one hundred percent little girl.

Rosie debated popping in to see Severus before she left on her trip to the Alley with Moony but she reasoned that it would be better to go after they got back. There would be more to talk about.

She and Moony walked to the school gates. Once they were past the gates, he apparated them to The Leaky Cauldron. Rosie still did not like to apparate.

"Would you like a butterbeer?" Moony asked her with a smile. She agreed and they sat for a moment in the pub.

"Moony, do you think my mom would have approved of me spending so much time with Severus even though they ended their friendship badly?" She asked.

"Of course, she would. Severus was a very dear friend to her. I think she would probably be angrier if he didn't take care of you."

"My dad wouldn't approve though right?"

"No. I can say for certain that he would not." Moony chuckled.

"He would forgive me though. Severus said once that there was probably very little that I could do that James Potter would not forgive me for." She mimicked her professor's drawl.

"You know love, I haven't seen you spend a lot of time with Severus these past few weeks. Why is that?"

"I'm kind of… scared of him right now." Rosie frowned.

"Did something happen?" Moony looked concerned.

"I don't want him to look in my mind and see… what I've been doing." She wrung her hands together.

"Ah." Moony sighed. "I wonder my dear if it wouldn't be better to just tell him? You know, the way he encouraged you to tell me about last year?"

"I can't Moony, he would be so disgusted with me."

"I can't imagine that he would. The more likely situation is that he would be disgusted with me Rose, but please do not let that stop you. Regrettably, it has always been so."

"No, you don't understand. Once he told me that the consequence to behaving that way when you are young is that you will have to admit to your future partner that you did not wait for them."

"Why on earth would he say that?"

"He felt pretty bad after I think because I was sad about, you know, the bad stuff, he told me that he had been wrong… but I don't know if I believe him."

"He must have just had a lapse in judgement Sweetie. You should really talk to him. I'd hate to see you two drift apart."

"Really? Even though he hates you."

"He doesn't hate you, and your contentedness is much more important than my own." He replied earnestly.

The pair strolled along the Alley for a while picking out Christmas gifts. She had gotten Hermione a set of nice Witches' robes. She didn't have any yet. For Ginny, she had gotten a pair of quidditch gloves and a muggle dictionary.

Ron would receive a book about quidditch and an assortment of treats. The rest of her friends and peers got small token gifts. Rose briefly thought about buying something more for Cedric but changed her mind.

They were not dating.

When she finished the majority of her shopping, Moony suggested that they head to the bookstore. Rosie knew that he had an affinity for books, not unlike Hermione. They arrived at Flourish and Blotts laughing, their arms linked. She felt lucky to have Moony.

The bell tinkled as the pair entered the shop and immediately, Rosie's contentedness disappeared. Her blood ran cold. The shop was not very large and to her right, a large banner was tacked onto the wall next to a stage, it read,

 _Book signing with Gilderoy Lockhart._

She stood frozen staring at the figure on the stage surrounded by reporters. His eyes made contact with hers that instant and something feral flashed behind them.

At that point, Moony began to worry. He shook her lightly to try and rouse from the stupor in which she'd fallen. From the stage, Lockhart grinned and before Rosie was prepared, he strode over to her.

She could not move; her body was frozen.

"Why if it isn't the beautiful Rosie Potter." His words cut her like knives.

He took Rosie's hand in his and gently pulled her over towards the stage. Rose followed him without question. Her mind was already too far gone.

Moony shot them a puzzled look but did not move to stop her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present Rose Potter, the Girl Who Lived. I had the pleasure of teaching Miss Potter last year. I'm sure you can all see why she quickly became one of my favorite defense students." He boasted pulling her into his side and caressing her face.

Cameras flashed. Rosie's mind was blank, her body was numb. She couldn't scream. As soon as Lockhart finished, Rosie peered over at Moony with pleading eyes full of fear.

It was at that same moment that realization dawned on his face.

Finally, Lockhart let Rosie go. She stumbled back over towards Moony who caught her expertly in his arms. Her eyes were fixed on a blank spot on the wall behind them.

Unresponsive, Moony encouraged her to walk with him outside. Rosie was grateful but the gratefulness was masked by impending hysteria. The only person in the world that she wanted to see… that she needed to see in that moment was Severus.

He would know what to do. He always did. Severus fixed everything. Instinctively, Moony seemed to know that. He gripped her tightly and apparated them to the Hogwarts gate, creating his patronus, and sending it off to carry a message.

If Rosie had been coherent in this moment, she would have been curious as to how he did it.

The dementors at the gate circled the pair and Rosie felt the urge to vomit. It felt like forever before she noticed the large black clad figure rushing towards them at the gate.

"What happened?" He demanded fiercely, his glare fixed on Moony.

"Rosie had an encounter with her previous defense professor in Diagon Alley." Moony stated calmly, still supporting her weight.

She could feel Severus try to meet her gaze, but she stared right through him. Reaching forward to bring her close, Severus closed his hands around her shoulders like he had when they'd viewed the memories together. He did not say anything. Instead, she allowed him to guide her into the castle.

Moony followed them, his face wrought with concern.

As they entered the potions office, Severus encouraged her to sit down on the couch. He took the spot beside her and Moony sat on the desk. Still, Rosie did not speak. She did not make eye contact, and she did not move.

Her body was rigid and hers eyes wide with the echoes of shock that still coursed through her veins.

"Rose." Severus tried.

She ignored him. Her mouth too frozen to form words. Lockhart had touched her. He had put his hands on her, crushed her against him in hug… caressed her face, like he hadn't been the one to destroy her.

Rosie knew that Severus was going to induce her panic. He was the one who had first tested the idea, he had taught it to Moony. She knew that there was no way to avoid it, but still her body resisted.

Rosie was powerless to stop the wave of emotional turmoil that was beginning to set over her. Bile rose in her throat and she leaned forward putting her head in her hands. Groaning loudly, her hands curled around her hair. She winced from the pain but did not stop.

Severus reached forward with a swift motion and pried her hands out of her hair. This was how it started. Feeling the magical recoil, Rosie resisted.

Her body arched away from his and the tension began to build. There was something different this time… more intense. The ball of anxiety in her chest grew and grew until it was all consuming.

When it felt as though her heart might burst from her rib cage, Rosie's mind lost touch with the world and she exploded. Magic surged out of her in all directions like a tidal wave of energy. The wave was brief but powerful and it left her drained of all the tension that she had been carrying.

With her sensory ability now restored, Rosie opened her eyes.

Severus was slumped against the wall by the office door clutching at his head. Moony had been pushed back off of the desk and was in the process of righting himself.

The desk itself had gone flying into the wall, breaking one of the legs and spilling its contents onto the floor. Practically the only things that remained untouched by the outburst included herself and the couch.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She began to sob.

Almost on command, Severus rejoined her on the couch, his face still contorted in pain from the impact.

"Rose. Control your emotions." He commanded stiffly taking her arms in his hands.

Moony stirred and began to get up from across the room.

"He touched me." Rosie choked out. "Like it was nothing, like he didn't even remember."

"He remembered." Severus assured her, his eyes flashing.

"Rose, I'm so sorry I didn't realize that he was the one…" Moony started.

"Shut up Wolf." Her potions master interrupted.

"Breathe child. Breathe deeply. Tell me. Where would you find a bezoar if you were creating an antidote to poison?"

Rosie gazed up at him strangely, but said, "In the stomach of a goat."

"Good. Now how about Angelwood? Where does it grow?"

"Under soft moss in forests that have high snail populations."

"How about Grimmwood?"

"It is a product of beetle infested pine trees."

"Excellent. Now one more. What is the first ingredient in the Wolfsbane potion?"

"Aconite" Rosie replied, her voice evening out and her panic receding.

"How do you feel?" He asked pointedly.

"A bit better." She sighed and rested her head on him. Moony was watching them intently.

"Tell me what happened."

She took another deep breath. " _He_ was at the book store."

"Who?" Severus asked raising his eyebrow.

"Lockhart." Rosie glared.

"What happened when you entered the store?"

"I froze. He saw me right away and pulled me onto the stage. He held me against him, said I was his best defense student." Her eyes began to prick with tears again.

"Ok. You were very brave today." Her professor sighed.

"I don't want to do this anymore." She breathed, her voice desperate. "I don't want to have outbursts, I just want to be in control, I want to have normal feelings."

"I know child, but this is only natural. Besides, you have not had an outburst in weeks. You are doing very well."

"I'm not." She cried, face flushing.

"Rose, I would hardly call one outburst a month a failure." He said seriously, his eyes firm.

"No! You don't understand Severus. I have been stopping them." Rosie confessed hiding her face, which was now red with shame.

"What do you mean stopping them?" He drawled. His tone grew colder.

Moony got up from where he was perched on the desk and came to sit by her other side. He took her hand and began to rub circles over it.

"Lupin, what is she talking about?" Severus demanded as Rosie hid her face further.

"I… Severus… Rose has been seeking out… other forms of emotional release." Moony said slowly.

Rosie couldn't help herself, she looked up to see Severus' reaction.

"What kind of emotional release?" His voice was dangerously low now.

Her stomach curled. She could not speak the words.

Moony must had realized that her tongue was tied. "Severus, please do not become cross with Rose. This reaction seems very normal in her situation."

"Don't tell me how to react." He barked. "What have you done girl?"

Rosie looked to Moony pleading him to continue for her. Severus saw the exchange and glared. He too turned to Moony and slipped into the same threatening tone once again, "What am I not aware of?"

Moony sighed. "Rose has been finding great comfort in regular sexual encounters over the past several weeks."

Severus' eyes widened and he turned away from Moony staring at her once again. His piercing eyes met hers and his mouth opened in surprise.

"You. What?" He asked slowly, his voice every bit as menacing as before.

"Severus…" She tried, but her cut her off.

"You have been trying to quell your anxiety over the sexual abuse that you suffered by having more sex?" Disbelief was evident now in her professor's voice.

"I…yes." Rosie lowered her eyes.

"Good god. With who?" Suddenly, his eyes flashed and he turned to Moony.

"You haven't been…?" Severus started, rage evident in his tone.

"Merlin Severus no! Never. I would never." The man replied holding up his hands.

"Who was it Rose?" Severus asked again. Rosie felt nervous to tell him. She didn't want Cedric to get in trouble.

"Severus please don't be cross with him. Be cross with me, but not him."

"Tell me."

"C…Cedric Diggory." She stuttered. Her face flushed scarlet once again.

Severus was silent for a moment, expressionless. "You have been having sex with fifth year, sixteen-year-old Hufflepuff prefect Cedric Diggory?"

Rosie just nodded. Her head hung in shame. Moony's hand was still on hers. He squeezed it lightly. Severus stood up abruptly. He turned around and with his entire body weight, smashed his clenched fist into the desk.

A crack formed where he had hit. Rosie shrieked and Moony flinched.

"I try so hard with you Rose. I have tried to steer you in the right direction. I have worked hard to earn your trust. Countless times I have shown you that your wellbeing is my only concern. Now, I find out that all of that is nothing to you, that I do not even posses enough of your confidence, enough of your respect for you to confide such a major decision to."

"Severus I'm so sorry! Please, I was scared to tell you. I didn't want you to think less of me." Rosie whimpered.

Severus put his head in his hands briefly, then he looked up at her again. "Go into my chambers and wait for me there. I want to have a word with your pet wolf. Alone."

Rosie scampered away not wanting to test his patience anymore and closed the door to Severus' chambers unceremoniously.

Remus was left alone with Snape. The man towered over him from where he sat on the couch, but he was not intimidated. This was still Severus Snape. It would take more than a demonstration of rage for Remus to be frightened of his childhood enemy.

"Severus. Was that really necessary?"

"You. You dunderhead. Do you really think that you have the right to just waltz in here and take over the situation like you have any idea how to deal with it? Do you really believe that you know the child well enough to make decisions for her? To conceal her decisions from me…"

"You must understand that Rose, she was horrified at the thought of you knowing. She said it helped. I taught her the contraception charm. I thought it was harmless."

"You encouraged her?" Severus spat.

"I helped her protect herself." He replied smoothly.

"What have I done to her to make her so frightened?" The man growled slamming his fist into the desk again.

"Forgive me Severus, but I don't think it has so much to do with what you've done. I think it is who you are to her."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You are practically her father Snape. That is how she sees you. Can you think of any little girl who would willingly discuss her sex life with her father?"

"I am not her father. Potter is her father." He hissed.

"James was her father yes, but you've taken over that role in her life. Maybe if things had been different, if Sirius didn't do what he did… If I had fought for her… it would not be so, but Snape, that is how she sees you."

The man recoiled, but continued to glare at Remus for longer than needed.

"Get out of my sight." He spat again and turned toward the door to his chambers.

He shook his head and made a motion to leave praying that he let the poor girl off easy. Remus could not imagine how she must be feeling in that moment.


	37. Chapter 37

Severus entered his quarters after several more moments of quiet contemplation. His mind kept coming back to images of the little girl that less than a year earlier he had pulled from the clutches of a man hell bent on her destruction. He was shocked at her willingness to climb back into the same situation.

The room was dark. Rose was curled up in a ball on his couch rocking herself softly. The scene was anxiety provoking. Severus did not understand how anyone, even another teenager could find anything remotely seductive about the child in front of him.

Rage burned from within his chest as her thought of the Diggory boy. He was a student from his own advanced potions class, three years older than Rose.

As he moved to sit on the table in front of her, the girl stopped her rocking.

She looked up at him with nervous anticipation and unfolded her legs so that they hung off the couch. Her eyes were obscured by the dark, but their brilliant green was not lost to him.

"Rose. What happened? Did Diggory pressure you? When did you even meet him?" Severus began cautiously, trying to keep his tone even.

"No Severus. It was my idea really." She cringed. "He asked me to Hogsmeade. We went, and he was really nice. I wanted more."

"Why? Why did you want more? Child, I find it hard to believe that he had nothing to do with this. He is three years your senior. He is a prefect god damnit."

"Please don't be upset with him." She begged. "He kept saying that he didn't want to have sex with me because I was so young, he didn't want to be my first. I only convinced him by telling him that he wouldn't be…"

"You told him about Lockhart?"

"No… I mean I just told him that I wasn't, you know, a virgin." The girl shivered.

"Oh child." Severus started, he rubbed his temples roughly. "What happened to you… that did not count."

"Yes, it did!" Rose cried indignantly. "What did it even matter anyways? At least it felt good. Nothing feels good anymore. For once I didn't have to explode to release the tension!"

Severus winced. The thought of Rose Potter underneath the Diggory boy, releasing tension, was too much for him to handle.

"Is he… your boyfriend?"

"No. I don't want a boyfriend." She answered promptly.

Severus groaned. "When did Lupin find out?"

"Right at the beginning, maybe last month. He found us, you know, in a closet." The confession rolled off of her tongue easier this time, but her voice was still uneasy.

Wincing again, Severus continued.

"What did he say?"

"Well, he started freaking out asking me if I had gotten my period. He taught me a charm to keep from getting pregnant."

"And had you… gotten your _period_? I was not even aware that you had begun menarche."

"Oh yeah, I got it in the summer." The girl blushed. "Moony said that there was still a chance that I was pregnant because I had done it that day without the spell, but I got it today, so he was relieved."

Severus' expression changed from one of neutrality to fury. "You mean to tell me that up until today there was a chance that you could have been pregnant and the wolf did not tell me about it?"

The girl frowned. "Please don't be mad at Moony. I begged and begged him not to tell you."

"Why didn't you come to me?" He questioned. His tone changing back to one of curious neutrality. "Do you not trust my advice?"

"I'm sorry… I was just scared." Rose looked down refusing to meet his eyes. "I was scared that you would look at me and think that I was wrong or bad. I didn't want you to think I was soiled."

Severus' mind flashed back to the conversation about Granger and Weasley that had taken place the previous month.

"You were not asking for your friend when we discussed this last month am I correct?"

Rose shook her head solemnly. "Merlin Child. Do you not remember me telling you that no matter what you do you are still worthy?"

"I do but… I didn't know if you really felt that way or if it was just because I was sad."

"Rose Potter. I meant every single word that I said. You are just as valuable as any other girl your age."

She still would not meet his eyes. "Not now."

"Yes now." His voice was firm.

"Severus, I did it on purpose. I touched him and I made him touch me and I liked it. I probably won't stop."

Closing his eyes, trying desperately to erase the mental pictures, Severus grasped the child's shoulders in his hands.

"You still hold the same value." He confirmed. "Please Rose, next time come to me. I don't like finding out second hand information."

"Ok, I promise." She sighed, leaning forward.

"I'm sorry about what happened in Diagon Alley today." Severus continued. "I did not think to check the man's book tour schedule."

"It's ok sir, it wasn't your fault. I just wish I didn't have to be afraid anymore.

"I know child. I know."

Severus allowed the girl to stay in his bed that night. He slept on the couch of course. However, she did insist that he stay until she fell asleep. It was the winter holidays so nobody would miss her. At around three in the morning, Severus was awoken by a frantic voice from his fireplace.

"Severus!"

"Severus are you there?" The voice hissed into the night. He hobbled over to see who it was. Minerva was on the other end.

"Severus, Sirius Black was just sighted in Gryffindor Tower and Rose Potter is missing!"

He froze.

Sirius Black in the common room. That was too much.

Severus quickly dispelled the older professor's nerves informing her that Rose was indeed safe with him. That did not quell her anxiety quite as much as he had hoped seeing as though she was not aware that the girl often spent nights in his quarters.

Minerva came through into his kitchen and made eyes at his makeshift bed on the couch.

"While I am extremely relieved that Miss. Potter is not in the clutches of Sirius Black, I am curious how she came to be here Severus."

"Minerva. Potter has issues, the Headmaster is completely aware that she spends the occasional night here when her anxiety is high."

"What is wrong with her?" The deputy headmistress asked with a frown.

"She is in the process of recovering from a trauma. I am afraid that is all I can reveal. Tell me, what happened tonight?"

In the midst of Minerva's hurried explanation of events, Rose must have woken up. The girl came out of his room bleary eyed in the pajamas that he had transfigured for her.

"Severus?" Her small voice questioned as she crossed the room.

"Oh, hi Professor McGonagall, is everything alright?" She asked.

In her tired state, Rose did not pay much attention to what she was doing and the girl ended up clinging on to his robes while awaiting an answer from her transfiguration teacher.

Minerva's eyes widened and then returned to normal as she gave a vague run down of events to the tired Potter. When she had finished, Severus quickly escorted Rose back to his room making sure she lay down and closed her eyes.

Returning to the kitchen, he was met with a disapproving look from his colleague.

"Severus. I have to say, this is strange. I have never seen anyone so comfortable around you, much less a student. Are you sure there is nothing going on that we should know about?"

"Minerva, what are you suggesting?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way Severus, but I was your teacher. I remember how you pined after Miss. Evans. Are you sure that your intentions with Miss. Rose are pure?"

"I am the girl's interim guardian and I'm disgusted that you would even suggest such filth! Take this up with Albus if you are concerned but kindly leave my chambers." He spat.

The conversation ended there, and Severus did not sleep a wink the remainder of the night. Thoughts of Sirius Black danced in his mind.

This was becoming a very real threat.


	38. Chapter 38

Rosie was alone when she woke up the next morning. There was a note on the counter that read,

 _Meeting with the Headmaster, breakfast on the table. Eat._

She smiled to herself. Severus always covered his bases. Rosie woke up with the urge to check on Neville. Aside from Rose, no other Gryffindor had stayed at Hogwarts over the break, which meant that Neville had to have been the one to find Sirius Black the night before.

She wanted to make sure he was alright. Although he was a Gryffindor, Neville was quite faint hearted.

Quickly, she grabbed a bite of toast off the plate and a sausage and scribbled a note to Severus letting him know that she was going to her common room. The pathway up the stairs from the dungeons was eerily quiet. When she arrived at the common room, Rosie noticed that the portrait was blank.

The door was slightly ajar already as though it no longer held a password keeper.

Neville sat in the corner of the grandiose living area with his head stuffed in a book. He was biting his nails and he did not seem to be reading, just staring blankly at the pages.

"Hi Neville." Rosie greeted cautiously.

"Rose! Oh, thank goodness! You're alright! Everyone was so worried last night. You should have seen Professor McGonagall."

"Yeah, I did see her, she came through when she found out I was with Severus." She replied sheepishly.

"Wait… You were with Snape? At night? Like, in his chambers?" Her friend made a face.

"Erm, yes, I sleep there sometimes."

"Gross! Is that even allowed?"

"Neville! It's not anything weird, he's like my guardian. Why does everyone think he's like that? Professor Dumbledore knows."

"Seriously? Why is _he_ your guardian?"

"I'll have you know that Severus cares for me very much. He helped me through a lot last year."

Neville's eyes widened as if he were trying to picture the potions master being helpful.

"So, how are you holding up after last night?" She interjected, changing the topic.

"Merlin, Rose, it was horrible. He was just there in my dorm. He kept muttering to himself and he had a knife!"

"What did he look like?"

"Just like the photos, but even more mad."

"Great." Rosie replied, her voice strained.

"Why is he after you anyways Rose?" Neville looked at her curiously.

"Well, from what I understand, he was my father's best friend turned death eater, and he is the reason that Voldemort killed my parents."

"Oh. I'm so sorry. M..my parents were hurt by You- Know- Who's followers too, just after yours were killed."

"They were? Forgive me Neville I didn't realize that your parents died."

"Um, well, they didn't exactly die. They were tortured pretty badly. Now, they can barely remember their own names."

Rosie's eyes widened. "Wow Neville. That must be so difficult." She reached out to touch his arm lightly. Neville blushed.

"Yeah, so I kind of understand what you had to go through. I couldn't imagine if Bellatrix Lestrange was after me."

"Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"She was one of the death eaters responsible for my parents' condition. One day I hope I'll meet her face to face." He said and his dark eyes flashed with something akin to malice. The look did not suit her friend, who, to Rosie's knowledge had never said an unkind word.

"Do you really think that hurting her would solve anything?" Rosie asked lightly.

"I guess so… yeah. Don't you want to hurt Sirius Black?"

"Not really hurt him so much as know why he did it you know? Like, Moony… Sorry, Professor Lupin says that he and my dad were like brothers, he even lived with the Potters when he was kicked out of his house for _not_ being dark enough."

"You're kidding! What do you think happened?"

Rosie just shook her head. She really had no idea. "I almost wouldn't mind running into him."

"Neville ran his hand through his hair uncomfortably. "So, why did you stay with Snape last night? I mean, I'm glad you did… but it was a pretty big coincidence."

Rosie felt a familiar tightening in her chest. "Erm… I was pretty upset because Professor Lupin and I ran into someone is diagon alley who hurt me pretty badly." She cringed visibly.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Snape makes you feel better about that?" The boy's face crumpled with the effort of his imagination.

"Yeah, he does." She gave a small smile.

"You know, I think you're very brave Rose. I feel like you've had a really hard time of it, but you are still so kind."

"Don't discount your own experiences Neville. We are way more similar than we are different."

The boy blushed again.

The pair spent the majority of the holidays together apart from the time that Rosie spent with Severus. Severus continued their patronus lessons over break, but she was still unable to conjure up a memory strong enough, or pure enough, to produce anything corporeal.

The potions master had yet to allow her to practice with the boggart. She had tried asking Moony for secret lessons with the boggart but he had rejected her, saying that he trusted Severus' judgement. Rosie had been going out for walks often with Neville and with Moony.

She always searched for the familiar pup that she was so fond of, but he only ever seemed to appear when she was alone. Rosie was not allowed to walk alone on the grounds anymore. Christmas day was spent with her two very disgruntled guardians.

Rose had made it very clear that she desired both of their company over the holiday, and the men had made an effort. There had been a lot of uncomfortable silence and glaring, mostly from Severus, but the trio had managed to spend enough time together to satisfy her need for familial comfort.

Severus had not mentioned Cedric once over the holidays. Rosie almost forgot about it until the beginning of term arrived once again. On the second day of classes, after lunch with her friends, Cedric came rushing towards her, much to Ginny's excitement.

Her friends were not aware just how close she had gotten with the Hufflepuff boy. His expression was pained and his voice urgent.

"Rose, can I speak to you?" He asked quickly, but it was not really a question because he put his hand on her arm, guiding her away before Rosie even had a chance to reply.

He took her into a deserted hallway, spun and around and ran his hands nervously through his hair. Rosie stood on her tiptoes leaning forward to kiss him, but he stopped her gently.

"Rose… I… I don't think we can do this anymore." Her eyes widened and a sinking feeling came over her.

"What happened?" She asked him calmly.

"Rose, Professor Snape talked to me." The boy cringed. "I…" but Rosie cut him off.

"Severus talked to you?" She blanched. "What did he say?" Her tone was irritated.

"Listen, don't be upset ok? He wasn't threatening me, he sounded concerned."

"What. Did. He. Say?" Rosie spat out.

"He said that you've been through a lot Rose, and that he is worried you are using, you know… our activities to avoid dealing with what is really wrong. He said you had some sort of extra bad reaction… or something over the holidays."

"God Severus. Fuck." She muttered.

"Cedric, he is just being overprotective. I had that reaction for a totally different reason, he is just reading too much into it." She sighed.

"What happened Rose? What was he talking about?"

"It's nothing Cedric. Seriously, please don't worry about it."

"No, Rose, c'mon you gotta be honest with me here. I don't know what to think. I told you I didn't want to hurt you."

"Ugh." She sighed. "I just ran into someone over the Hols that I had a really bad experience with, I reacted badly to that. Not to you."

"Who was it? Snape made it sound like being with me made your reaction stronger." He whispered urgently.

Concern was wrought in his expression.

"Just… someone who, you know, made me do some stuff with him that I didn't want to." Rosie closed her eyes.

That was all she was able to get out. Her heart was in her throat and she could tell that her face was flushed.

Cedric's eyes widened and his lips parted slightly in shock.

"Rose, shit. I am so sorry. God." He was panicking. "I never should have… oh jeez, I am so sorry. We should stop, I don't want to be like that." The boy brought his hands up to rub his face.

Rosie reached up to take his hand. "Cedric, please look at me."

He met her eyes, but his were clouded over with sadness. "Don't do this. Don't look at me like that, please. If I didn't want to be with you like that, I wouldn't be ok?"

"But Snape said…"

" _Severus,_ " She spat his name out, "is a prude. It just makes him uncomfortable.

He has no reason to think that my bad reaction was anything more than the result of me running into that person."

"Are you sure? I really like you Rose and I don't want to do anything to you that you don't want."

"I'm sure. Really, if I felt uncomfortable, I'd tell you."

"I guess, I also don't know if I want to… uh, you know, do just that _stuff_ with you. I was kinda hoping that we could maybe be something more?"

Now it was Cedric who was flushed. "If you want…that is. We don't even have to have sex you know? We can just take it slow. Maybe then I'll pass potions this year."

Rosie giggled. "I'd like that." She responded sweetly, "but I wouldn't mind, erm, continuing what we've been doing. Severus will not fail you in potions for sleeping with me. He wouldn't dare."

Cedric chuckled. "As long as you're sure."

Suddenly, he became serious once again. "I… I want you to promise that you'll tell me if you are ever uncomfortable, please, I can't imagine what that was like for you…"

She stopped him, wincing slightly. "I will."

"Thanks. So, does that mean you will officially be my girlfriend?"

"Yes." Rosie replied, her mouth turning upward in a small smile.

She let him kiss her, and then they parted ways. Lunch was ending and that meant that Severus had a free period. Rosie had defense, but Moony wouldn't kill her for being late.

As soon as Cedric was out of sight, anger began to creep its way through her stomach and up into her chest. How dare Severus talk to Cedric without her consent. She marched herself down to the familiar dungeon office and entered without knocking.

Severus wondered how long it would take before he had an angry little girl bursting through his office door. He had to admit, Rose did not waste time. Lunch had only just ended when she let herself in to his space, rage evident in her emerald eyes.

Severus knew that talking to the Diggory boy had been a risk.

There was always a chance that Rose would come out of the situation more hurt than when she went in, but he was seriously concerned about her sexual willingness. The reaction to seeing Lockhart had been the worst outburst that the child had ever experienced.

She had injured both himself and the wolf, and left his office destroyed. The potions master couldn't help but think that it might be a product of dealing with potential outbursts on a superficial level, through sex, instead of dealing with them fully, which always involved the recoil in her magic.

"Really Severus? You had to do that. You couldn't just leave it alone?" Rose started as soon as she walked in through the door.

"Good Afternoon." He replied tersely.

"I can't believe you did that." She continued. "You're not going to stop me."

"I expect you to take your recovery seriously Rose. I am not going to allow you to become addicted to quick fixes for a problem of this magnitude."

"Fuck you, you just want me to be dependent on you."

"Do not speak to me in that way." He snapped coldly.

"You're pathetic. You aren't my father. I don't have to listen to you."

Severus stood up from his desk, walked over to Rose and grabbed her arms in his hands, holding her still. His breath was hot on her face.

"No, I am not your father, but I am your guardian, and you will give me that respect."

"Get off me!" She shrieked struggling in his grasp. "I hate you!"

"Rose Potter. I am an adult and you are a child. You need to listen to me."

"What? You've got the power, got it. Are you gonna fuck me too then? What the hell does it even matter. I'm already damaged goods."

Severus balked but did not take his eyes from her or his hands off her.

"I would never do that to you. Authority does not always have to hurt Rose. I am looking out for your best interests."

"Why can't I have sex Severus? Why can't I? It makes me feel better. It makes me feel normal." She was becoming emotional now.

"I did not say that you could not have sex." He spat out. "I do not want you to use sex to squash your outbursts. It is not supposed to be used as a coping mechanism."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Rosie whispered, her voice losing its hardness.

"I don't know yet child, but this is not the solution. I am going to do everything in my power to help you control your outbursts from here on out, but I need your word that you will not continue to have sexual relations of any kind while you are on the brink of panic."

She breathed a long sigh of defeat. "I won't. I'm just so tired Severus." He relaxed his grip on her arms and she fell forward allowing him to catch her smoothly.

"It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair child."


	39. Chapter 39

Time passed evenly. A few weeks had gone by since Severus had spoken with Cedric and they had become an official couple. Nothing much had changed apart from the fact that the Hufflepuff boy made an effort to spend more time with Rosie outside of a closet or drawing room. Her friends were absolutely ecstatic.

Ginny had been practically vibrating with energy when Rose had confessed to her that the pair were dating. Rose had tried very hard to do as Severus said. Cedric had been more than understanding and she had to actually beg him to sleep with her the few times that they had done so in the past few weeks.

However, Rosie made sure that in those moments, she was not on the verge of an outburst. Instead, any panic that ensued, she brought immediately to Severus or Moony.

The problem had been that having sex without the underlying pressure of impending panic had actually made it more difficult for Rosie to enjoy the activity. The last time that she had tried, she had to ask Cedric to stop, which he obliged immediately.

Something about the calm, or the lack of urgency allowed her mind to dwell on Lockhart. Without the heat, and the intensity of trying to squash her outburst, Rosie was left with the images of what had been done to her at the forefront of her mind.

Cedric was becoming increasingly worried and had almost initiated a complete ban on sexual contact.

On the Friday before the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match Rosie found herself once again tangled in a passionate kiss with her boyfriend in the broom closet closest to the owlery. It had been a while since the pair had attempted to have sex and she was feeling ready.

There were no distractions and Rosie made sure that she was completely calm before seeking the boy out. As his hands moved down her body, her robes came up past her waist and his hand snaked down to touch her. His eyes were hungry with lust and Rosie was all to familiar with his own physical reaction.

Trying to lose herself in the moment, she pushed down the negative memories one by one as they surfaced. Cedric moved to enter her and as he did, Rose lost her sense of security all at once.

Her body tensed and did not receive the intrusion as normal. Rigid and frozen, the pain sliced through her.

She let out a small cry of discomfort, which the boy mistook for pleasure as he began to move. In that moment, all sense of presence was lost and Rosie was back in the defense office, her eyes clouded over with fear.

Cedric must have felt her body stiffen because he stopped and pulled out.

"Rose. Hey, are you ok? What's going on?"

"I… I can't" She breathed, tears beginning to leak from her eyes.

In an instant, Cedric pulled away from her, fixing himself and then helping her redress. "Hey, hey, you're fine. Nothing it going to happen, I swear."

"Oh, Cedric I'm so sorry. I just, I haven't been able to properly since Severus talked to you."

"No, Rose, don't apologize, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I just can't stop picturing..." She trailed off.

She could tell that Cedric was uncomfortable talking about this because he stiffened to and patted her lightly on the back.

"There there. Why don't I bring you down to the dungeons so you can talk to Snape?" He suggested quickly.

"No, no not Severus, I don't want him to lash out at you." Rosie fretted.

"Ok, well how about Professor Lupin?" The boy asked again.

She could tell that he did not feel equipped to help her. He definitely had a realistic grasp on his abilities. Rose just nodded. The boy wrapped his arm around her shoulders allowing her to lean on him lightly as they walked. When they arrived at the defense office, Moony was there, but he was visibly ill.

That's when Rosie remembered that the full moon was the next day. Moony's eyes widened as he spotted Cedric with his arm around her, as well as her obvious discomfort. Her boyfriend nodded towards the professor and cringed slightly.

"Professor, um, we were, uh, you know… and Rose got really upset, so I brought her down here to see if you could maybe help her, um, feel better." The boy stuttered, his normal confidence nonexistent.

Moony stood carefully, supporting his weight on the desk, eyebrows raised.

"Thank you, Mr. Diggory." He stated, his voice neutral and calm. Cedric turned to Rose and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Feel better Rose." He said softly, his tone apologetic.

When the boy left, she was left alone with Moony who shot her a knowing look. Motioning toward the couch, he allowed her to sit and then sat next to her.

"Are you alright sweetheart?" He started.

Rosie winced, but nodded. "It's fine Moony, really, I just needed to get away."

"Honey, he's not coercing you, is he?"

"No, don't think that, please. He stopped as soon as I… erm… reacted."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. I think I might just go for a walk. Can you not tell Severus about this please?"

"Your secret is safe with me, but please be careful on the grounds alone, be back before dark."

Rosie gave Moony a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before sending him to rest for the impending full moon. The tension began to build up in her stomach bubbling upward towards her chest.

She groaned bitterly realizing the irony that she was going to have an outburst because she had sex, but that sex was the only thing that would be able to stop it.

Partly because of her promise to Severus and partly because she knew that Cedric would not dream of doing it with her again today, Rosie began to walk quickly towards the grounds knowing that there were fewer breakable objects outside. She reached the lake in record time and leaned up against a tree closing her eyes tight.

The effort to slow her breathing was futile and as the panic built within her, Rosie could feel the familiar sensation of her magic expanding. She hit the tree with her bare hand, hard, and heard a snapping sound.

A large branch had cracked off of the top and had fallen to the earth with a thud.

"Fuck." She muttered, tears wetting her cheeks.

The panic was subsiding, but the overwhelming sadness was not.

"Why can't I be normal?"

Just then, Rosie felt a nudge at her knees, which were pulled toward her as she sat against the trunk. Opening her eyes, she realized that it was the grim-like dog come to sit with her.

"Oh, Hi sweetie." She greeted weakly, her small smile marred by her tears.

The dog just cocked its head and nudged her again whimpering.

"You're just the nicest guy aren't you?" Rosie cooed.

She grabbed the dog's face in her hands and placed sloppy kisses all over his eyes and nose.

"How did you know I was out here?" Hugging the grim closer to her body Rosie began to whisper into his fur.

"I hate being like this. I hate him for what he did and I hate being hunted by mass murderers. Why does everything have to be so hard?"

They must have stayed like that for a while because when Rosie finally opened her eyes, she realized that darkness had begun to descend upon the grounds.

Giving the pup one last smooch, she quickly started off towards the castle. If she didn't show up for dinner Moony would most definitely send out a search party, which meant Rosie would be on the receiving end of Severus' wrath.

Going to bed early that night because of the Quidditch game in the morning, Rosie changed into her pajamas and slipped under the covers. She awoke to the sound of Hermione crying.

Her friend had her face buried in her hands and her body was wrought with tension.

"Hey, Mione what's wrong?"

"Oh Rose, it's Ron's stupid rat Scabbers. He's missing and Ron thinks that Crookshanks ate him! He is so cross with me!"

Rose tried her best to comfort her friend but she was at a loss for what to say. Ron's rat was the least of her concerns. She tried to be supportive, but she was sure it came across as dismissive. At breakfast she searched for Cedric. He met her eyes from across the hall and smiled.

He was not upset with her. That was a relief. Later that afternoon when it was time for the Quidditch match, Rosie dressed in her uniform and pulled her hair into a long braid down her back. This was her chance to make up for the last match, which had left her in the hospital wing.

Tucking her wand securely into her robes just in case, she headed down to the pitch. Everyone had come out the watch the game that day. She spotted Severus sitting next to the headmaster on the right. To his left was Moony, who looked as though he'd been hit by a train. Rosie was touched that he had come to see her play in his condition. Severus made eye contact with her as she rose into the sky.

His team was playing against hers, but he locked eyes with her and winked before they began. She really was so fond of the potions master. The game was going as normal. She scanned the sky for the snitch, listening as her teammates scored one after the other. As her eyes travelled downward, Rosie blanched.

Below the pitch appeared two large, shadowed figures. A shudder ran through the length of her spine as Rose recognized the figures as dementors. Curling her fear into a tight ball, she stuffed it down and thought of Moony. She thought of his face when Rosie had called him by name at the beginning of the year.

She thought of his hugs, his smell, and the fact that he was out here watching her even though he was so desperately ill.

"Expecto Patronum." Rosie cast, pulling her wand from her cloak and directing it at the dementors.

Something shot out of her wand and took off towards the creatures. Turning her head toward the game once again, Rosie caught sight of the snitch and dived for it, her reflexes did not fail her, and pretty soon she was flying high above the game, snitch in hand as Gryffindor was announced as the winner.

On the ground below, the so called dementors struggled to sit up, their cloaks falling to the ground as they did so. Two Slytherin boys emerged from them, faces red.

Severus was up in an instant, his face furious as he stalked toward the disgruntled boys.

As Rosie came to a landing she was met with hugs from Hermione and Ginny, followed by an enthusiastic Cedric who swept her up into a passionate kiss right in the middle of the pitch.

Ginny Shrieked, drawing the attention of Severus who turned away from the two instigators to glare at the couple. Rosie pulled away giggling, her face flushed.

"Ah, young love." A soft voice said from behind her.

Rose turned around and came face to face with Professor Dumbledore, who was helping Moony to stand. She blushed again.

"Sweetheart! Your patronus was absolutely brilliant!" Moony enthused with more energy than she thought he should be expending.

"Yes indeed… Rose, my dear girl, I am thoroughly impressed." Dumbledore added with a smile. "I was very pleased to note that your patronus has become corporeal."

Rosie's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean it had a shape? What was it?"

Something akin to laughter danced behind Moony's eyes and the Headmaster's were positively twinkling. Cedric, who had his arm around her waist chuckled lightly and then brought his lips close to her ear.

"Rose, your patronus was a _bat_." He whispered.

Her mouth dropped open. Of course it would be. Rosie brought her hands up to cover her face and she could hear Moony laughing again. She hid her face in the Hufflepuff boy's chest.

Just then, from the side, a familiar voice sliced through the moment.

"Might I _cut in_?" Severus drawled, glaring pointedly at Cedric, his eyes trained on the boy's hands where he held her.

"Y... yes sir. Of course, Professor. Cedric stuttered and he moved his hands off of Rose taking a step back.

"A word… Rose." Severus requested, something in his voice implied that it was not a choice. Rosie followed him to the empty stands. She sat up on one of the bleachers so that her eyes were at the same level as his where he stood.

"That was an excellent display of magic child." Severus started softly.

Rosie smiled and blushed. "Thanks sir. I'm sorry about the shape." Her face reddened further.

"Do not apologize. I have not spent years perfecting my bat-like appearance only to deny it now." His face was serious but a smirked played on his lips.

"Did you just make a joke?" She questioned.

"That is for you to determine." He replied smoothly.

There was a small pause and then Severus spoke again.

"I trust that you are behaving in a manner consistent with your recovery." He said, his eyes drifting towards Cedric who was making conversation with her friends.

"I haven't been doing anything to stop my outbursts if that's what you mean."

"It is."

"I actually, erm, it has been, you know, making me panic now…" Rosie trailed off.

"What has been making you panic?"

She cocked her head towards the Hufflepuff boy and cringed.

"Has he done something to you?" Severus' eyes flashed dangerously.

"No no, I mean that, when we… do it, when I am calm, well, I have bad reactions."

"Why is now the first time I am hearing of this?"

"Severus please, you know it makes me uncomfortable." She blushed.

"If you cannot talk about sex you should not be having it." He glared at her.

"What does Diggory do when you panic?"

"He stops." Rose affirmed.

Severus sighed. She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for always protecting me."

Severus said nothing, but he brought his hand to her arm and squeezed it lightly.


	40. Chapter 40

After the game, Rosie got permission from Severus to spend the evening helping Hagrid sort through his collection of magical snakes. Ginny and Neville had both decided to accompany her, but Ron and Hermione were still fighting, and neither wanted to be in the same place as the other.

They were to return to the castle by exactly 5:30PM, as tonight was the full moon.

As they walked back up the lake path, passing the shrieking shack where Rosie knew that Moony would soon occupy, the trio heard a small rustling noise from the bushes.

"What was that?" Started Neville, his voice quivering.

Ginny, being the most courageous of the three moved forward and stuck her head in the bush.

"Don't worry guys! It's just Scabbers!" The girl announced, picking up the squirming rat in her hands.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Rosie exclaimed. "I thought that Ron and Hermione were going to spontaneously combust."

The redheaded girl struggled with the rat, which would not stay still.

"Stupid rat." She muttered as they continued their ascent towards the castle.

Suddenly, for the first time that Rosie was not alone, the friendly black dog came trotting over towards her.

"Woah!" Neville shouted. "That's a grim!"

"Relax." Rosie smiled. "He's my friend." She stated as she moved forward to meet him.

His black eyes were fixed behind her… on Ginny, but he did allow her to pick up his face in her hands and plant a kiss square on his nose.

"Wait… this monster animal is your friend?" He asked her incredulously.

"Yes, I've been feeding him all year." Rosie shot a puzzled expression towards her friends as the pup whined long and low.

He ran slightly forward, and then turned around to face them with pleading eyes, repeating the motion several times.

"I think he wants us to follow him!" Ginny giggled. "Should we go?"

"I don't want to get on Severus' bad side…" Rosie cautioned.

The dog whined again. He hopped up and down and motioned again with his head. "I think it's important." Ginny encouraged. Rosie felt Neville grip her arm tightly from behind. Scabbers was positively writhing in Ginny's hands, but she was not paying attention. Annoyed, Rosie cast a quick body binding curse on him.

The animal froze in place, its eyes moving wildly in all directions. The trio followed after the dog as he moved in quick bounds. Rosie began to feel a nervous constriction in her stomach, as did Neville. She could feel him tightening his grip against her.

Ginny urged them on, her excitement brimming as she revelled in the small adventure. When the three of them reached the shrieking shack, Rosie started to fret. Her friends did not know about Moony. The full moon wouldn't rise for another hour and a half at least… but she could not be sure that Moony wouldn't arrive early.

She didn't want his secret to be exposed. Plus, it was getting late, and Rose knew that Severus would send out a mob looking for her, or worse, he would come himself. However, she wasn't going to let Ginny go into the shrieking shack alone, so, Rose followed.

The dog ran ahead of them, pushing a knot on the base of the trunk to stop the moving branches. This adventure was beginning to feel strange. Rosie's dog was acting strange… almost humanlike.

Climbing with her friends through the entrance hole, the trio arrived at a small wooden door. Rosie moved forward ahead of Ginny, and pushed it open. The dog trailed behind them, nudging her forward.

Moony's face was white as a sheet when he saw the children enter through the door to the shack ahead of the canine. Regret seeped instantly through her veins as she caught sight of her guardian's face.

He must have come early.

"Rose. Come. Here. Now. All three of you. Please." His voice was stricter than she had ever heard it, laced with fear as he stood shakily drawing his wand.

"Get behind me."

"Moony? What's wrong?" Rosie asked.

"Rose. Do as I say."

Rosie did not bother to look back as she gripped Neville's hand in her own and pushed Ginny forward to stand behind Moony. Fear gripped her like a glove.

Something was very wrong.

Her friends backed themselves into the corner of the shack, and Rosie turned around to stand just behind Moony, grabbing onto his arm, partially to support him, and partially to keep from falling over herself. Sitting quietly in front of them was Rosie's dog.

He cocked his head and gave Moony a meaningful stare.

"Sirius." Moony spoke.

His voice was strong, juxtaposing his weak physical presence.

Her blood ran cold. What did he mean Sirius? Sirius Black? Before Rosie had time to react to the name, the grim-like dog began to rise and change. Quite sure that she was on the brink of fainting, she gripped tighter onto her guardian's arm and he wobbled.

There, standing before them, ragged and dirty, was Sirius Black. He had emerged from the dog as though it was the most natural and expected transformation.

Rosie's mouth dropped open. Her eyes widened and her magic began to tingle. The black dog… the one that she had fed and called Sweetie, was actually the man who had been hunting her down all year.

There was a moment of utter silence as the escaped prisoner stared at Moony and Rose. His eyes drank them in as though he could not believe that this moment had finally come. Moony's stance became harder yet and he pulled Rosie closer to him, shielding her from the man before them.

"Remus… my old friend." Black sighed.

There was something about his words, something that sounded almost akin to longing. It was in that moment that Rosie lost her sense of reason. Her magic was boiling under the surface, tempting her, and Moony was not strong enough to hold her back.

She stepped forward shaking off her guardian's hand as it moved to stop her, ignoring his faint cry of, "Rose!"

"What. The. Fuck." Rose began, her voice slow and sharp.

"Rose…" The man before her started to speak.

"Be quiet." She commanded.

"What the fuck is WRONG with you?" Her voice was rising in pitch as Rose inched forward. Black winced.

"I have been FEEDING you for MONTHS!"

"Moony…" She turned to the now ghostly pale man behind her, "He has been letting me confide in him for weeks as a dog. I literally just kissed his fucking NOSE!" She shrieked.

The room shook slightly with the force of her words.

Realization dawned on her face, still staring at Moony, Rosie whispered, "I talked to him about…" Her face twisted in horror.

She had talked to him about Lockhart.

Before Moony could stop her, Rose lunged forward colliding with the man and pushing him backwards. His body was weak with malnourishment, and he fell easily to the ground, catching himself and sitting up.

"Rosie Please." He started again…

"You are SICK! Did it fucking turn you on or something? She moved closer to him again, slowly driving him toward the wall.

"No, oh Merlin no, Rosie…" The man gasped.

"Remus." He pleaded, turning his eyes towards Moony.

"What do you want me to say Sirius?" Moony snapped, his eyes flashed towards her in concern.

"You sat there and LISTENED to me telling you all of that and not ONCE did you think to bloody tell me that you're actually Sirius Black?!" She had him pinned against the wall now.

His gaunt face was wrought with emotion.

"You didn't think that you had done enough?!"

"I…"

"SHUT UP!" She screamed again, her face inches from his. "You KILLED my parents. My dad was your BEST friend and you killed him and then you pretended to be my dog for almost the entire year! You took my trust and you did the exact same thing to me as you did to James Potter." She spoke at him.

His face contorted in pain and Black closed his eyes.

"Please, I didn't do it to hurt you… I just wanted to spend time with you." He rasped.

"WHY?" She yelled back. "Why after what you did?" She curled her fingers into his dirty shirt, pressing him against the wall.

His breath was hot on her face.

"Oh, Rosie you look so much like your father." His sigh came out like a sob.

"Stop calling me Rosie! You don't get to call me that! You killed my parents!" She cried in frustration.

It was in that moment that Rosie heard a new voice cut through the silence.

"Rose Lily Potter. Step away from Sirius Black. Now."

It was Severus. His voice was icy and commanding. She paused for a moment and then felt her hand release and pull away from the man's shirt. Rose backed away and continued slowly until she was standing just in front of the potions master, her back pressed against his chest.

She did not take her eyes off of Black, who had tried to stabilize himself against the wall as she retreated. Winding her hand through Severus' robes, Rosie spoke again.

"Severus… he's a dog Animagus. He tricked me. He's been pretending to be a real dog all year."

Severus met her eyes briefly and nodded to her in acknowledgement but did not reply.

"Snivellus. Stay out of this." Black started and Severus sneered. Rosie glared. "Why did you call Severus that name?" She demanded her eyes trained on him. "What is Snivellus?"

"It's what he is Rosie. He's a lying, scheming, snivelling…"

"Enough." Severus said, his tone terse and irritated.

For the first time since she had begun to speak, Black pulled his eyes away from Rosie. He got down on his knees and turned to Moony, ignoring Severus' wand, which was pointed at him threateningly.

"Remus, please, I'm the reason that James and Lily are dead, but I did not betray them. I did not do what they say I did." The man grovelled.

Moony's eyes flashed with pain. "Sirius. How can I believe that? You sold them to You-Know-Who! Why would you do that? After all that James had done for you?"

"Please Remus, you have to believe me! I was not the secret keeper. We switched and we told nobody. We switched to Peter."

"Peter Pettigrew is dead." Severus noted coldly from beside her. Rosie just stared up at him in confusion.

"No, he faked it! He is alive and he was the secret keeper I persuaded them to switch." Black begged. "I can prove it."

"Time for explanations is long past Black. Get up. You are finished." Severus instructed, pointing his wand. Rosie could see the conflict in Moony's face.

She could tell that he wanted to hear more.

"Wait Severus… please." Rosie whispered softly.

Conjuring up her best puppy dog eyes, she stared at him, blinking innocently. "I want to hear what he has to say."

"Rose. Do not be foolish. This man is incredibly dangerous."

"Severus, he's not even got a wand." She implored. A tense moment passed between them.

"Five minutes." He agreed stiffly.

"Oh Merlin, Rosie's got you smitten Snivellus." Black coughed out a laugh.

Rosie saw red. "Fuck you." She spat lunging forward.

Snape held her back with his free arm. Lurching her roughly, he brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Control your emotions child."

Black was staring at Moony again.

"The rat Remus." He pointed to Rosie's friends who were huddled together, wide eyed and silent in the corner. "Peter is the rat."

"That's not possible!" Squeaked Ginny from the other side of the shack. "Scabbers has been in my family for …"

"Twelve years!" Black gasped madly. "Twelve years he had been hiding out in your home while I've been rotting in Azkaban!"

Surprise flitted across Moony's face. He spoke from where he stood.

"Miss Weasley. Please stand up and place your pet rat in the centre of the room."

Ginny was trembling. Rosie shook off Severus' hand with as much force as she could muster and crossed the room. She held out her hand for her friend to place the rat into and tried to give her an encouraging smile.

Ginny handed Scabbers over to Rose who placed him, still petrified, in the middle of the floor in front of Severus. She could feel the weight of everyone's collective stare on her back. When she set him down, Rosie quickly scampered back over to the potions master and grabbed a fistful of his robes once again.

Black noticed this and wrinkled his nose, glaring at Severus.

Severus cast a spell and just as Sweetie had changed into Sirius Black, Scabbers began to change as well. In his place lay a petrified man. His hair was littered with bald patches, and his skin was dry.

Two large front teeth poked out from between his lips and his eyes gazed in every direction, terror evident in his expression.

"Good God." Rosie shuddered and she quickly buried her face in Severus's robes. "I can't deal with anymore surprises tonight."

The men questioned Peter Pettigrew and were able to determine that he was indeed the secret keeper for her parents' home. Black and Moony were poised to kill him by the time that Peter had finished speaking but Rosie was scared.

She was still clinging onto Severus and she whispered quietly in his ear… "I don't want to see him die."

Understanding flashed in his eyes and in that instant, he spoke, clearly, and with authority. "Pettigrew will be brought to the castle."

"Shut it Snivellus. The rat deserves what he's about to get."

Rosie's lip quivered, and she could see that her friends were covering their eyes. This time Severus appealed directly to Moony.

"Lupin. In order to prevent the further traumatization of the children in this room, I must insist that the man be brought to the castle."

Moony glanced over towards Severus and Rose and made eye contact with her. He must have seen the fear reflected in her face because he put his hand on Black's shoulder gently and said,

"Severus is right Sirius. Rose and her friends don't want to see this."

Severus put Pettigrew in another body bind and moved to levitate him but was stopped by the furious voice of Sirius Black.

"Don't you touch him Snivellus! You are not going to bloody well screw this up for me."

"Don't call Severus that name! Please." Rosie begged.

"Rosie, sweetie, c'mon you've gotta see that Snape here only loves you because he was sick for your mother." Black pleaded.

"Sirius." Moony warned, but it was too late.

Rosie's eyes pricked with tears. She brought both her hands up to her face to wipe them away. Severus touched her back from behind.

"Relax Rose. Control yourself." He whispered audibly.

Sirius Black's face twisted with shock as she started to cry.

"Shit, I'm sorry Rosie please don't cry. Please."

Black moved towards her, his big hands outstretched as if he were going to try and comfort her. Rosie took a big step back.

"Don't touch me!" She whimpered and she almost toppled Severus over with the force of her weight.

Hurt flashed across the man's face, his expression faltered and he glared meaningfully at Severus who caught her. In the background, Moony was trying to reason with his old friend.

"Sirius, come now, let's deal with one matter at a time. Leave Rose alone for now." Black's demeanor gave the impression that he was desperate for something from Rose… a reaction, or affection, she wasn't sure.

"Get away from my goddaughter Snivellus!" He tried again, but Rosie was not having it.

"Why are you so mean to Severus?" She screeched in indignation. For the first time in years she felt the urge to stomp her foot.

"How can you be so close to him Rosie… he's… he's disgusting, fowl… He's death eater scum!"

Severus stiffened beside her. That's how she knew that what Sirius said was true… death eater? Rose recalled Severus' own voice explaining to her what a death eater was just a few months previous.

Her Severus, a supporter of Lord Voldemort? That was impossible. She looked up to him, her eyes pleading for him to deny to claim but he just did that horrible thing where he looked at her, and then looked away.

His hands let her go, dropping to his sides. He even let his wand down. Icy horror dripped down Rose's spine. Sirius Black was telling the truth. Severus was a death eater, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt because the whole room had gone silent.

Nobody even so much as breathed. Sirius broke the silence again, a triumphant look passed over him. It made Rosie's stomach curl.

"Ah, he left out that little detail, did he?" Black continued. "Conveniently forgot to mention his creepy obsession with the dark arts?"

This time it was Moony who cut in. "Sirius. That's quite enough. Leave Rose alone." Her professor's voice was clipped and serious.

"Can't you see that you're hurting her?"

Rosie turned desperately to Moony now, her eyes wild and fearful, the tension rising in her chest. He opened his arms from across the room and she shot into them easily. She tried to focus on his scent as she breathed.

"You're ok Rose." He started, rubbing circles on her back. "You are in control. You are with me, Moony. In the shrieking shack.

Her whole body was trembling with the force necessary to restrain herself. Severus' voice was smooth as ever from across the room directed at Moony.

"Ask questions." He advised, still not making eye contact with anybody.

Her potions master's voice only made her shake harder. Sirius Black was staring at them all, wide eyed and confused.

"Ok, Rosie Sweetheart. What was the first birthday present that I ever brought you?" He asked.

"A stuffed bear." She responded faintly.

"Good girl." He replied. "and the place that we met on your seventh birthday?"

"The playground by Crook Street." She replied again. Her voice beginning to even out. "Excellent honey. Now, how do you get to Crook Street from your aunt and uncle's house?"

"Erm, you walk straight for two blocks, and then turn right by the big tree… then you go straight and left by the line of dumpsters."

"Yes. Very very good job."

Rosie was breathing almost normally again. The tension was still present but it was at bay. Moony stroked her hair. "Severus why?" Her voice broke into Moony's robes, and she could feel him sigh against her.

Suddenly, something happened. Moony lurched forward, gripping the table nearest to him.

"Moony?" Rosie cried, her voice raising an octave.

Her guardian began to shake, harder than she had ever seen anyone do so. His eyes rolled momentarily back into his head. Everything happened very fast. Sirius Black jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Rosie's waist, trying to pry her off of the defense professor.

"Rosie, he's transforming, you have to get out of here!" He cried in a panic. Rose struggled to get away from him.

Moony was looking at her with an expression of pure terror, hair began to sprout all over his body and his face elongated. Rosie screamed and fought Sirius to get to her guardian. Sirius was weak, he could not hold her off for long.

It was then that two stronger, more familiar arms came to close around her body, pulling her away with one sturdy motion. Neville and Ginny had already taken off running towards the castle when they realized what was happening to Moony.

Severus tried desperately to move Rose but she was kicking him, struggling away from his firm grasp. "Let go of me!" She shrieked angrily, using her elbow as a weapon. Rosie's magic bubbled at the surface and she felt it explode out of her skin like a bomb.

Severus went flying backwards, dropping her to the ground as he did so. Rosie used the advantage to move closer to where Moony lay writhing on the ground.

Sirius had transformed again into a dog and growled at her in warning, stepping in front of the emerging werewolf.

She knew now that Sirius Black would not hurt her, so she moved forward again without fear. A sharp tug at her shirt let Rose know that he was trying desperately to move her, but the dog in the case was just as weak as the man.

The werewolf stood where Moony had stood, tall and thin, on its hind legs. Rosie reached her hand up to touch its face. The fur was course and the wolf bristled at her touch but did not move.

"Moony?" She asked, her voice meek and curious.

The animal gave a low whine, and pushed its muzzle into Rose's shoulder. Rosie breathed a sigh of relief. He had obviously taken the wolfsbane potion, which would make sense, because he had been here early.

Sirius had changed back into a man and was cautiously approaching Rosie where she stood still enraptured by Moony.

"Rose…sweetheart, you need to step away. Moony isn't like himself when he's in his transformation. This is very very dangerous." He tried.

The wolfsbane potion was a relatively new invention, one that Sirius Black would not be aware of due to prolonged stay in Azkaban.

"It's fine." She snapped. "He's taken his potion and he is fully aware." Her glare was poignant.

Confusion crossed the older man's face, but Severus, who was beginning to rise from where Rosie had flung him, interjected.

"The girl is right Black. Lupin is in control. I brewed the Wolfsbane myself."

Rosie turned to meet Severus' eyes but he looked away again. In a clear voice aimed at the wolf standing in front of her Severus spoke,

"Lupin, I trust that you can manage not to bite the girl whilst I bring Black and Pettigrew up to Headmaster." His voice was cold and authoritative.

Moony nuzzled her hair lightly.

She assumed that it was a yes. Severus caught Sirius by surprise and put him in a body bind curse next to Pettigrew. Both men were lifted into the air alongside one and other and with that, Severus was gone. Rosie turned to face Moony who whimpered softly and lay down on the floor near the wall.

She followed him, lay down too, and cried into his fur. The events of the evening replaying themselves in her mind. Sirius Black was innocent, and Severus was a death eater.

Her Severus, the man that she trusted more than anyone in the world was in league with the wizard who had tried to kill her. It didn't make any sense. Moony rested his head on her as she cried, but was unable to speak.


	41. Chapter 41

Severus finished explaining to Albus the situation without ever releasing the two men from their body-bind jinxes. He was absolutely furious. It had taken almost all of his willpower not to murder Sirius Black then and there, the moment he laid eyes on the prisoner.

The only thing that had stopped him was Rose. He could not bear the thought of her eyes losing more color than they already had. Her face of betrayal had been unbearable, because he saw not only Lily's eyes telling him that he was worthless, but at the same time her child's eyes, who he had become so increasingly fond of.

Severus had been kidding himself that she would never learn the truth about his past, but the fact that it had been Black of all people to throw it in his face made the situation worse. It was just like Black to unhinge the sliver of trust that the girl had developed for the ex-death eater.

The dog had an unfathomable talent for spotting people's weaknesses. He had chosen Rose's greatest insecurity, that he, Severus, had some sort of inappropriate affection for her, and two, that the affection stemmed from her mother.

Then, he had coupled it with the knowledge that Severus was a death eater.

The timing was horrendous. Severus knew that he would not be able to keep Black locked away knowing that he was innocent of all crimes. Well, he could, but he knew that the child would never forgive him for it.

This meant that Sirius Black, as Rose's legal guardian, would be able to fill her head with as much undesirable information as he could about Severus, and that he Severus Snape, would once again lose the most important person in his life to a marauder.

Lupin was one thing.

The wolf was not an instigator, nor was he one to take charge. He had been happy to let Severus take on the authoritative role.

Black however, he was nasty.

Severus would have classified Black as worse than Potter, if the mutt had been the one to steal Lily away. All of these thoughts and more were rushing through his head and all that Albus Bloody Dumbledore did was smile, his eyes twinkling as usual as he listened with rapt attention to Severus' account of the events.

"My dear boy, if you, being who you are, are convinced that Sirius Black is innocent of all crimes, then by all means so am I. Shall we revive the boys and decide how to proceed?"

Severus remained stoic and cold in the corner while Albus questioned Black and Pettigrew separately and called for a ministry official to verify the story. It was only when Black mentioned his desire to see Rose Potter that Severus snapped back to attention.

He jerked violently, "Not tonight Black."

"Oh, be quiet Snivellus, like you have any say in this, I'm her godfather."

"Sirius, my boy, Severus is very close with dear Rose. I hope that you'll respect his request for you to wait until morning. I'd imagine that the girl is quite overcome at the moment."

"Dumbledore he's death eater scum! How can you let him near Rosie?"

"I trust Severus Snape." Albus repeated, for probably the thousandth time.

"We'll see how much little Rosie trusts you in the morning now that she knows what you really are." Black snarled, aiming his rage directly at Severus now.

Albus raised an eyebrow. "You informed Miss Potter of Severus' past affiliations I presume?"

"Of course, I did! She has a right to know!" Black shot back.

Severus tried very hard to remain calm. Albus would think better of him if he did not speak.

"Sirius, I know that you have suffered a great miscarriage of justice here, but Rose Potter is in a very delicate place emotionally at the moment. I can only hope that in your haste to reconnect you have not destroyed her sense of security tonight with your careless words." His voice was harsher than normal.

His eyes were not twinkling anymore.

Black spluttered. "Now, I would like you Sirius, to go through to Remus' office, and then into his quarters. I am quite sure that he won't mind. You will find a fresh set of clothes and a shower there. Feel free to rest and we can reconvene tomorrow." Albus added.

"Severus, I would ask you to go and collect dear Rose from the shack, but I presume that you would prefer to remain in the castle?"

He nodded.

"I will go to her then. Instead I would like you to search out Miss Weasley and Mr. Longbottom and help them make sense of the situation."

Albus waited for Sirius to leave before turning to Severus. "I'm impressed by your composure tonight my boy. I have faith in Rose's ability to look beyond Sirius' words. I will be going now, before Miss Potter becomes too upset."

With that, Albus swept out of the office.

Albus made good time, reaching the shrieking shack within minutes of his departure; however, he found himself overcome by the sight that met him and was unable to complete the task at hand. For the first time in his life, Albus Dumbledore witnessed a fully transformed werewolf sleeping, curled up like a dog in a protective posture around a little girl.

Rose Potter was asleep, seemingly unbothered by the elements or her current position, her hands curled in the wolf's fur. The girl definitely did not have problems sleeping. Smiling to himself, Albus pondered the changing times, and walked back to the castle much slower than he had descended.

There would be time for talking tomorrow.

Rosie woke early as the sun poured down over her face. She tried to sit up, but realized that she was trapped, encircled within two human arms. Snaking her way slowly out of his grasp, she released herself, and then pulled back blushing fiercely.

Moony was naked.

That must be how he woke up after a transformation, which made sense, robes were not part of his body. Luckily, at this point, it would take more than seeing a naked man to upset Rosie.

She quickly located Moony's robes on the floor of the shack. They were torn, and she tried to mend them quietly. Rose didn't want Moony to be embarrassed.

Averting her eyes, she draped the robes over him like a blanket, and sat down again waiting for her guardian to wake up. His chest was scarred, and dark circles framed his closed eyes. Rosie wondered why everyone had left her to sleep in the shrieking shack all night. She hoped desperately that nothing bad had happened.

For Moony's sake, Rosie hoped that Sirius would be declared innocent, but blind rage still coursed through her when she thought of the man who had pretended to be a dog.

She did not know how she was going to look that hateful man in his face knowing that he knew all of her shame. Still, thinking of Black was easier than thinking about the potions master.

Rose couldn't even bear to think about Severus that early in the morning. She needed more time. If she had thought that Sirius Black hiding as her dog was a shock, the knowledge that Severus… her Severus was a death eater delivered a shockwave so large that it felt as though she might die from the pain of it.

What did this mean?

Rosie didn't understand how he had become a professor, or avoided prison. Just the thought of Severus made her shiver with sorrow. She trusted him so much. She had trusted everyone and it was all a lie. A soft whimper escaped her lips, and Moony stirred beside her.

Slowly, a few tears began their descent down her face. Everything was wrong. The sobs came almost as a natural succession and the noise awoke Moony. He took one look at her, and tried to sit up, but he was not strong enough.

"Shh, it's alright Moony, don't move." She begged through the tears. "Don't hurt yourself."

"Oh, Rosie honey" He croaked. "You don't have to take care of me."

He tried to sit up again, the robes moved too far down and Rosie reached quickly to pull them back up to his stomach. Moony reddened so intensely that she thought he might combust.

"Rose, you… oh Merlin… I'm so sorry." He stuttered. "You Shouldn't've had to…"

"It's ok Moony really, it's not your fault." She turned away, allowing him to slowly get dressed.

When he was finished, Rosie reached out for him, allowing her guardian to balance his weight on her so that they could make to journey back towards the castle.

"Rose… I don't even know what to say to you sweetheart." Moony started, his voice weak as they hobbled gradually up the path.

"You must be so confused and upset."

Rosie just grimaced up at him. "I just can't think about it." Her words quivered.

She was trying to stay strong for Moony. "I'm glad that your friend is innocent."

"So am I." He replied, but then looked at her meaningfully. "You know, I don't think he was pretending to be a dog to hurt you love. He was like a brother to your father. I'm sure Sirius just wanted to be around you."

"I don't want to talk about Sirius Black." She shot back, glaring.

"How about Severus?" Moony questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

Rosie's glare deepened. "No."

"Darling, I'm so sorry really. I know this all must be horribly shocking to you, but Severus loves you. He would never do a thing to hurt you."

"Loves me because of my mother you mean." She shot back.

Moony sighed. "Now you know that that's not true Rose. Sirius just said that to rile him up."

"Even so, you knew. You knew he was a death eater and you didn't tell me."

"I did." Her guardian replied solemnly.

"Why?"

"Because I trust Severus Snape, just as Albus does Rose. I may not like him, but I trust him, especially where it concerns you."

Rosie just scowled at him again. It didn't matter that Dumbledore and Moony trusted Severus when she had trusted him, and he had lied to her.

As they reached the castle, Professor Dumbledore greeted them at the entrance. He must have been waiting around. Rose could feel Moony tense next to her and she hugged his arm tighter.

"It's ok Moony, I'll always be here for you." Rose looked up at him, her foul mood forgotten for a moment.

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling.

"Rose dear, your capacity for love in difficult times is one of my favorite things about you." He touched her chin affectionately.

Moony's face was somber. "What happened Albus?"

"I think we'd better take this conversation back to your office Remus." The headmaster replied, purposefully keeping quiet.

Moony was obviously not well. He was nervous, and sick from his transformation the previous night. He gripped onto Rosie like he needed her to stand. That made it all the more special when upon opening his office door, Sirius Black leapt into his arms, pulling him away from Rose grinning widely.

"Remus!"

Rosie stepped back, her heart clenching. She felt lonely all of a sudden. Dumbledore stood next to her, watching her face serenely. He took her hand in his own.

"Why don't we all have a seat?" He suggested.

Sirius Black turned away from Moony in the moment and locked eyes with Rose. He approached her cautiously.

"Heya Rosie. How are you feeling?"

She glowered at the man, doing her best impression of Severus' stare. He frowned.

"C'mon now love, I've been waiting so long to see you. Please don't be cross."

Rosie looked to the Headmaster, her brows furrowing. She didn't know what to say.

"I was hoping that maybe we could get to know each other a bit better." The man tried again.

Dumbledore's hand rested on her upper back, supporting her silently, but he did not offer any words.

"I think you already took that liberty upon yourself." She replied, again trying to mimic Severus' frigid confidence.

A pang of sadness shot through her as the dour potion's master passed through her mind. The headmaster seemed to be finding their interaction amusing.

Sirius flinched. "Rosie, I… I'm sorry really, I just wanted to be near you."

Rosie shivered. "Yeah, grown men do seem to enjoy tricking me into being near them." She spat, not even realizing what she was saying.

Her godfather recoiled, a pained expression on his face.

"Rose. Honey, that's not really a fair comparison." Moony started from Sirius' side, his pale hand on the man's shoulder.

"Is it not? I was under the impression that I wasn't supposed to be kissing the faces of random escaped convicts."

Her voice was becoming naturally colder. "I slept on top of you." She added, the scowl on her face staying put.

"Oh Rosie, Merlin, I promise I'm not a pervert, things are different as a dog." He pleaded with her.

Moony sighed. He came over to her, and embraced her from behind, his weight heavy on hers as he still struggled to stand. The werewolf planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"Sweetheart, maybe you could cut Sirius a little slack huh? He did just spend almost your entire lifetime in Azkaban."

"Why should I cut him slack when he wouldn't do the same for Severus?" Rosie grumbled. Her expression downcast.

"For Snape? Are you seriously that upset about that greasy git?" Sirius began, his tone raising.

Anger bubbled up inside of her chest and she pried Moony off of her, turning to the ex-con and fixing her face into a hard glare.

"Don't. Talk. About. Severus." She growled warningly.

"Are you joking? Rose he is a death eater! He was in Voldemort's ranks!"

"Well then he's MY death eater!" She shouted back. "So just shut up about him, please!"

"Your… good god what has he done to you? You know he was the creepy one, always skulking around Lily, watching her. You should be more worried about him."

That sent Rosie over the edge.

"YOU have no idea how much Severus has done for me you… you jerk!" She screeched, lunging forward.

Dumbledore held her back.

"Rose, dear, I think maybe you and I might take a walk together, let the boys catch up. How does that sound?" He suggested lightly eyes twinkling like mad.


	42. Chapter 42

Rosie was still seething as Dumbledore guided her down the empty corridors, class was obviously in session. They were heading towards his office. The headmaster was smiling. "You know my dear, I have never heard the phrase 'my death eater' in use before, but I must say, I found it quite amusing." He said as they arrived at the familiar gargoyle.

Rose glared at him.

"I'm sorry dear, I shouldn't be joking with you, nothing about what you're feeling right now is humorous. I just wonder if maybe this little revelation might not be as big a deal as we make it out to be."

"Not a big deal?" Rosie shot back. "He worked for the man that murdered my parents! Did he kill people? Why is he even a teacher?"

"You are correct, he did work for Lord Voldemort, but you should understand that one does not simply join the death eaters. It is an initiation, and everyone who goes through the initiation process has their reasons for doing so, especially Severus."

"Why did he do it then?" She threw up her hands. "Why did he sign on to kill and torture people?"

"That, I cannot divulge. As you know, Severus is a man completely out of touch with his own vulnerabilities."

"Can you at least tell me why he's a teacher?"

"Severus has been working for me longer than he ever worked for Voldemort. He became my spy shortly after his initiation into death eater ranks. I'd trust him with my own life."

"Is that what the freaky tattoo on his arm is? It made my scar hurt when I saw it."

"Yes, I am afraid that death eaters are permanently branded as such." His eyebrows were raised. "He showed you his dark mark?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"No, it was an accident."

"Ah." He replied quietly.

"I just don't know what to think sir. What if Voldemort comes back? Will Severus hurt me? Is it safe to be around him?" Rose was quieter now.

"I can say with absolute certainty, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Severus Snape will never do anything to harm you. He is the most loyal man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"Not to Voldemort."

"No, you are right, but in that case, a previous and more potent loyalty interfered with his service as a death eater."

"To who?"

"That is a question that you will have to ask Severus directly my dear."

Rose scowled at him again.

"You know my child, you are the most emotionally expressive person that I've met in a very long time. It is quite refreshing." He smiled.

"What am I supposed to do Professor Dumbledore? Should I go talk to Severus? Should I wait until he talks to me? I'm still so angry that he lied to me." She questioned, frustration still evident in her tone.

"Knowing Severus as I do, I would advise you to initiate conversation with him when you are ready. He will more than likely avoid you in his shame."

"He's ashamed?"

"More than you know." The man confirmed solemnly.

Rosie frowned. "Do you think he feels like I did when I found out about… you know, Lockhart?"

"That is a very wise comparison on your part. I do believe it might feel something like that."

"Then he must feel terrible." She stared off into the corner of the large office. Dumbledore did have a way of putting things that made her see them differently.

"Might I ask how you have been coping after your unfortunate experience with my former employee?"

"Um, not that well." She cringed.

Dumbledore nodded sympathetically. "Quite understandable. Severus has been more preoccupied than I've ever seen him."

"Yeah, he doesn't exactly understand my… um, coping mechanisms."

"Yes, He has developed an interesting new dislike towards poor Mr. Diggory."

Rosie flushed red.

"Oh, you mustn't be embarrassed my dear. We are all only human, though I do hope that I have accurately expressed Severus' level of attachment to you."

"Moony kind of said the same thing."

"Yes, Mr. Lupin has been a great comfort to you as well has he not?"

"Oh yes, of course. Moony is wonderful. Sometimes between him and Severus I feel like I have parents." She giggled a little. "Well, Moony pretty much lets me do what I want, Severus is kind of more how I imagined a…. never mind."

"Do finish your sentence Rose dear. I'd love to know what you were about to say."

She flushed again. "Well, he is kind of what I almost imagined a dad would be like." Rosie hid her eyes in shame.

"Do not hide child. There should never be any shame in confessing your true feelings."

"I just… He's a death eater? How can he be a death eater and… love me? Does he love me?"

"I assure you, he does. Being a death eater does not hinder that affection in any way."

"He's so mean. I wasn't really sure he could love anyone." She confessed timidly.

"Everyone is capable of love my dear. Even mean-spirited potion professors." His voice was soft.

"Not just because of my mom?"

"No. I don't believe so Rose. His relationship with you is much different than his relationship with Lily."

Rose fingered the locket that still hung around her neck. "It makes him really sad to talk about her."

"You are not wrong. Though it is a shame that you cannot see how he acts when your well being is in question."

That made her smile a little. "I'm afraid that I have revealed too much of Severus' soft side for his liking. I think it might be best if you rejoin Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black… or you might prefer to prepare yourself for your afternoon classes. That is up to you."

Indignation bubbled up from within her. "I don't want to be anywhere near Sirius Black."

"You know, he is your rightful godfather." Dumbledore told her.

"Well I do NOT want to live with him. I want to stay with Moony and Severus like we had planned." She grumped.

"And if Mr. Black were to live with dear Remus, how would you feel?"

"I want to live with Moony. Sirius can be there I guess, if that's what Moony wants, but I don't want him to be my guardian. Just Moony and Severus, please sir. I want Severus to be in charge of me. He always knows what's best."

"I am sure that Sirius will accept your conditions in time. He is desperate for your approval. You know, your father would most definitely want you to have a relationship with Mr. Black."

"Well, then he will have to learn to keep his mouth shut." She crossed her arms.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "Do not close yourself off to him entirely. If not as a father figure, maybe he will fit into your life in another way. Only time will tell."

"Hmph." She replied. "I'll try."

"People surprise us." Was his closing statement before Rosie got up to leave. She was not sure exactly where she would go, but a walk on the grounds sounded nice, now that there were no mass murderers out for her head.


	43. Chapter 43

Rose purposefully avoided her friends and sought out Cedric. She found him near the kitchens chatting with a few other blokes from Hufflepuff, and pulled him away. The tension that she was feeling was so intense, and so out of control that she had to do something.

Rosie didn't care if Severus had banned it, she didn't care because that was before she had known what her guardian was capable of. Why should she listen to him? He was a death eater. He had done much worse that have sex.

Cedric stopped her immediately. "Rose, hey, I don't want to do this if you're going to be upset. I hate seeing you like that." He chided lightly.

"Please Cedric, I'll be fine I promise, just please. Make me forget."

His face still showed his concern.

Rose reached and began to unbuckle his belt.

"I want to." She whispered in his ear, and Cedric began to meld with her into a kiss.

He was hesitant, which was a total turn off, but she was trying to work with it. By the time she got him hard, she was on the verge of panic, her muscles aching for a magical release. It almost wasn't enough this time. As she climaxed against him, allowing herself to let go, Cedric sighed.

He was sweaty and his energy was spent. She had been particularly aggressive. Rosie wanted to cry. She still felt the tension there, bubbling under the surface.

"God Rose, that was unbelievable. Are you ok?" He asked her as his hand came up to cup her face.

"Yeah I'm fine." She turned away wishing she was somewhere else.

Rosie hated how much he cared for her wellbeing. Which sounded crazy, but he was so scared of hurting her that it made her feel gross, it made her guilty of something. Feeling only marginally better than she had before, Rose dismissed Cedric, who seemed hurt by her lack of desire to spend time with him, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Feeling alone, Rosie groaned with an inconvenient realization. She'd been so overcome with anxiety that she hadn't cast the bloody contraception charm. Fuck. Still overcome with anger, anxiety, disinterest, numbness, and frustration, Rose figured that her mood couldn't get any worse, so she slumped down to the dungeons with the intention of not getting pregnant and pissing off her guardian at the same time.

Arriving at Severus' office she opened the door and walked in without regard for what he might be doing. The potions master looked up from his desk and his eyes widened at the sight of her. She decided to get right to the point.

"I need an emergency contraceptive potion." Rosie stated calmly.

Severus closed his eyes, his face exhausted. "Why… pray tell did you not use the charm?" He asked, his voice tired.

"Caught up in the moment." She snapped. The man sighed, running his hands over his face in frustration.

"Rose… please don't do this to yourself because you're angry with me."

"Why do you even care? Aren't you just biding your time to hand me over to Lord Voldemort?"

He flinched, closed his eyes again, and then spun around stalking into his potion stores. When he returned, Severus handed her two small vials, one with a pink potion and one with a blue.

"The first potion is the emergency contraceptive, but know that you will get a particularly heavy menstrual period either today or tomorrow as a result. The second is a pain potion for when that occurs." He explained stiffly.

"Should you need more pain potion, you need only ask." Rosie suddenly felt bad for what she'd said.

He was helping her without question, and she remembered Dumbledore's words, she knew he was ashamed of his past, and she'd just thrown it in his face and then asked for his help.

Impulsively, Rose reached forward and caught his left arm in her hand, pulling it toward herself. She began to undo the buttons on his sleeve until the dark mark was revealed to her. Severus tensed and it seemed as though he wanted to pull his arm away, but he did not. She cringed at the slicing pain in her scar, but she ignored it and traced the snake and skull pattern across his pale wrist with her finger.

Full of mixed feeling, Rose knew that she had to express to him exactly how much this betrayal hurt before she could forgive. Looking up to meet his eyes, Rosie knew that he would try to read her mind. When she felt his gentle probe, Rose brought the memory forward of herself as a baby, the only memory that she had of her parents. Her father's voice shouting,

"Lily, take Rosie and run, please Lily run, don't wait for me. Go!"

A thump as her father's body hit the floor.

Her mother screaming as Lord Voldemort burst into the room. Hiding in the nursery, and her mother begging, shielding her daughter with her own body. "Not Rosie, please not my Rosie! Kill me instead, please." Voldemort's snake-like face cackling.

The curse that killed her mom, the curse that was supposed to kill Rose. Pain in her scar.

Severus recoiled as though she'd slapped him. His face paled and she thought he might be sick. "I just need you to understand why this hurts so badly." Was all that she told him before turning quickly away from the man, hastily leaving the office.

What Rose did not see was Severus fall to his knees, his whole-body heaving with the weight of the memory that she'd just shown him. Lily's death, and the betrayal that clouded the memory like thick smoke.

He had betrayed Lily, and he had betrayed Rose. Nothing had changed. The girl was going to succumb to her vices, she was already hurting herself further, because of him. Severus was a poison to those around him.

He did not move off of the floor for several minutes, and when he did, it was to return directly to his quarters and down not one but several glasses of firewhiskey. It was much later that evening when Albus came to check on him. The headmaster gazed sympathetically towards him, piercing blue eyes devoid of judgement through those half moon spectacles.

"Do not lose hope yet my boy. Rose showed you incredible loyalty this morning when confronted by Sirius Black."

Severus did not speak. "The girl is very attached to you. Poor Sirius almost had a stroke when she referred to you as _her_ death eater." The old man continued. Severus rubbed his face with his hands once again, but did not respond.

"Don't push her away because you feel guilty. I assure you, she will only fall harder."


	44. Chapter 44

Severus had warned Rosie that she would get a period, and get a period she did, only it was about fifty times worse than any of her regular monthlies had been. It was heavy, and she could barely move from the cramping. Hermione had been confused at the change, but she could not tell her the reason. Somehow, she felt that her friend would not be sympathetic.

This was the second day of classes that Rosie had missed, and she was beginning to feel behind. Around midday, she decided to try and make her way down to Moony's office. She was pretty sure that he had a free period. The pain was intense and Rose had to stop frequently on the way, doubling over.

When she finally reached the office, she knocked lightly and had to squeeze her eyes shut tight. Rose was never going to forget the charm ever again. It was not Moony who answered the door, but Sirius Black.

"Hey Rosie sweetheart, how ya doing?" He smiled at her.

"Where's Moony?" Rosie asked, trying to bypass him before doubling over again groaning.

Sirius' face contorted with worry as he caught her and tried to help her stay upright.

"Remus, can you come here?" He shouted into the office.

Moony appeared behind Sirius and held out his hand for her.

"Hey love, what's going on? Are you sick?" He helped her onto the couch and she leaned against his body, nausea winding itself around her intestines.

"Emergency contraceptive potion." She muttered.

Moony's eyes widened slightly. "Oh. Did I not teach you a charm for that my dear?" He smirked.

"I forgot." She moaned and pressed her head into his shoulder.

Sirius watched their interaction with a strange look on his face.

"You taught her the bloody contraception charm?" He directed the question toward Moony frowning.

"I did." He confirmed.

"Remus, She's a baby!" It sounded like he was scolding Moony.

Rosie glared at him, her mood suddenly worsening. "Stay out of it." She warned.

"I'm just worried Rosie, thirteen is awfully young for that…"

She turned to Moony with a disbelieving expression on her facing. Wincing in pain once again, she asked, "Is he messing with me?"

Moony just sighed and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Sirius, Rose has had different experiences than other girls her age."

"Who gave you the potion honey?" Moony asked her. "You didn't get it from a friend, did you?" His face flashed with worry.

"No, it was Severus."

"Snivellus had an emergency contraceptive potion handy? Man, I don't think he's ever needed one of those." Sirius snorted.

Rosie growled. "Don't call Severus that mean name." She retorted.

The man's face twisted in disgust. "I have to admit, I don't see the attraction. What is with you and Snape?"

Moony rubbed her arm softly. "Sirius, please." He tried. "I'm not attracted to Severus, he's like my father." She hissed, grimacing again as her insides clenched.

Anger flashed in Sirius' eyes. "He is _nothing_ like your father." He spat.

Moony began to sense that the situation was getting out of hand. "Padfoot, take a step back ok? We've plenty of time to debate this when Rosie is feeling better, but right now she needs to relax, alright?" Then he continued, turning to Rose.

"Love, I was under the impression that you'd taken a break from intimacy? You looked pretty upset that day when Cedric brought you to me."

"This is different." She cringed, her eyes moving to Sirius who was watching them intently, something akin to sadness in his features.

"How so?"

"Moony, I don't want to talk about this with _him_ here." She gestured towards the ex-con. Sirius' face fell further. Her guardian looked as though he didn't know what to say until Sirius stood up, hands up in surrender and said,

"It's fine, It's alright Rosie. I'll go make us all some tea," as he disappeared from the office into Moony's chambers.

Rosie turned back to Moony who caressed her hair. "What's been going on with you and Cedric sweet pea?"

She winced at the thought of explaining this again. "I… I can't be intimate when I'm calm."

A puzzled expression crossed the man's face. "What do you mean by that?"

"Like, I have to be almost panicking before I do it. It calms me down, but if I'm already calm… all I can think of is… _him_." Rosie shivered.

"So that day… you tried to have sex while you were relaxed?" He probed.

She just nodded. "Um, Severus banned me from using it as a way to control my outbursts."

"So, what about this last time then?" Moony asked.

"I, erm, didn't listen."

"I see." Was all that he said, allowing her to relax against him as she moaned in pain once again.

"You amaze me Rose. Your bravery, your will to keep going after you have been so disastrously let down by every adult in your life."

"Do you really mean that?"

"I do, and as much as I understand where you are coming from, I still worry for you. I don't want to see you hurting."

"I hurt all the time Moony. My whole body feels like a ticking time bomb. I feel like my magic is out of control and it's scary."

"I know honey." He replied as she began to drift into a soft sleep. Sleeping was the only way to escape the thoughts that twirled around in her mind obsessively.

Remus sighed as Rosie slept against his chest. He wished that he could just encircle her in his arms and never let go, never let anyone hurt her, touch her, allow her to feel pain again. This was James' little girl, but she was so much more.

She was a girl who had beared burdens far greater than most adults, she was kind and compassionate, unquestionably loyal. Remus looked up as Sirius entered the room. His heart clenched at the thought of his friend's suffering.

He'd spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime that he did not commit, dreaming of the day when he would be reunited with Rosie, and then she had completely rejected him.

"I want that." Sirius whispered hoarsely. Staring at the pair of them. "I want to be that person for her, and I'm so jealous of you Moony, it hurts."

"I get it Sirius. I've felt that ache. I visited her once a year, against Albus' wishes, and then I abandoned her. You should have seen how she was treated in that muggle house. I didn't realize that she would recognize me…" He trailed off.

"What can I do? To make this better, to make her trust me. What the hell happened to her? I can't even begin to imagine…"

"Rose was hurt beyond anything that I've ever had to deal with. Her professor last year, he was a monster. He used memory charms on her, and he…" Remus just closed his eyes and shook his head.

"She seems so comfortable around you… um, physically." Sirius cringed, nodding towards them.

"Rosie is not fearful, of anything really. She craves to be touched, she desires closeness with anyone. That just might be her undoing."

"How the fuck did Snape get involved?" Sirius asked, his face wrinkling in disgust. "I would have sooner guessed that he was the git who was molesting her."

"Sirius, please. You have to trust me when I say that Severus is a changed man, and if a relationship with Rose Potter is what you desire, then you need to stop insulting him in front of her."

"Why? Why is she so devoted to him?" The man hissed.

"He was the one who rescued her from her vile professor. He was the one who stepped up when no other adult in her life did Sirius. She trusts him profoundly, and if you think that you can get between Rosie and Snape you are wrong."

"Surely, she doesn't need the slimy git around anymore… she has you, she has me…"

"And she would abandon us both without a second thought if it came down to him or us Sirius. Severus has already taken the fatherly role away from us, that is how she sees him."

"She seems to have no trouble coming to you." He retorted.

"Yes, but she doesn't listen to me. She merely comes to me for comfort. Severus is the only one with some semblance of control when it comes to Rose. For the most part, she heeds his rules. She fears getting in trouble with him. Trust me when I say that Rosie is not an easy girl to be around. You will be thankful for Severus later on."

"I highly doubt that."

"For now, Padfoot, just try being her friend. Act with Rosie like you would've with James. She can take it. She needs a little fun in her life. That is how you will gain her trust."


	45. Chapter 45

It had been an awkward few weeks. Term's end was sneaking closer and closer and Rosie had been trying desperately to catch up on her homework and spell work. The news had gotten out about Sirius Black's lawful pardon, and Peter Pettigrew's arrest, and so everyone had been asking her about it. Ginny and Hermione had been helping her filter questions and spread the word so that she could focus on her studies.

Rosie had been letting herself control the magical outbursts again with sex, and Cedric was beginning to relax a bit. With her friends, things were good, but with her guardians, everything was rather strange. She and Severus had barely spoken in weeks and Rosie was feeling the loss. She longed for him to talk to her, give her an excuse to go to his office, but she remembered that Dumbledore had said that Severus probably would not seek her out.

She had been spending a great deal of time with Moony, but Sirius was always there with him, so she was less comfortable in the professor's office than she had been before. The ex-con had been mostly keeping quiet, or skulking around when she was present.

Sometimes he just sat around as a dog.

It was not until yesterday that Moony sat her down alone to have the conversation that she'd been expecting.

"Honey, I just wanted to check and make sure that you were still interested in living with me when the term ends. Severus suggested I ask you."

"You talked to Severus?"

"Yes, I did."

"Oh, course I still want to live with you Moony."

"I'm honored that you feel that way love. Of course, you will still be brought to Severus' home during the full moons, and the floo network will be connected to his flat in case you want to pop over there for a visit."

Rosie smiled at the idea. "I did have one more thing to ask you about though sweetheart…" He started cautiously, and she knew what was coming.

"It's ok Moony. It's fine. He can live with us." Was all that she said.

Moony's eyes widened. "You really don't mind honey? If it makes you uncomfortable, you know that is the last thing I want… he's just…"

"Your best friend. I get it Moony. Don't sweat it."

"Thanks Rosie." He smiled.

"But I do have a condition." She said, raising an eyebrow.

"What is that…?"

"Cedric comes over whenever I want, we are allowed privacy, and nobody tells Severus." She stated firmly.

"Oh sweetheart, you will be the death of me. You know that your father would skin me alive if he ever found out I'd made this agreement with you? Severus would as well."

"Well, luckily nobody will be telling either of them." She responded challengingly.

"Fine." Moony conceded, raising his hands in surrender.

Rosie smiled. "Great. Then we're all set."

"Are you sure you're not a Slytherin love?"

"We'll I've learned from the best."

Thinking about Severus made her chest tight. Rosie had to go and see him. She stood up and winked at Moony, making her way down to the dungeons with trepidation. Rosie was surprised to find that Severus' office was already occupied when she arrived in the dungeons.

Draco Malfoy sat, with his back to her. His voice was hushed and his tone worried. Severus listened with rapt attention to what the boy had to say.

"I think he is planning something, there have been groups of those men in and out of the manor, mother is becoming preoccupied."

Rosie cleared her throat. Both boys startled, looking up from their conversation.

"Miss Potter, come in." Severus invited her silkily.

"Potter." Malfoy glared.

"Malfoy."

The boy got up to leave. He passed her roughly, knocking her with his shoulder so that she tripped sideways as he left.

"Fucking git." She muttered.

"Yes, and you are just a ray of sunshine." Severus drawled.

"At least I'm not you." Rose shot back.

"My we are cheeky today."

There was tension behind the playful exterior of their conversation. "Severus… I…"

"No. Do not apologize to me." His voice was firm. "I should have informed you from the beginning of my previous connection with the Dark Lord."

"Yeah, you probably should have." She nodded. The silence was awkward for a moment. "Sirius Black is a git." Rosie proclaimed, breaking the pause.

"No truer words have ever been spoken." He replied, "But, in this case, the mutt was only the unfortunate messenger of my folly. I was, and I am a death eater Rose. I am not a good man."

"Dumbledore trusts you, so does Moony. I do too."

"I have killed people child. I have hurt people, tortured them, created potions designed to torture. I have witnessed atrocities, much like what befell you, and done nothing to stop them."

Rosie flinched. "Should the Dark Lord rise again, I will serve Albus as a spy for the light as I have done before, but I will be a death eater again. I will watch as the Dark Lord tortures people, as the death eaters kidnap, murder, rape, and now, every single time, I will see your face and hear your screams.

I will do nothing, because my soul is sacrificial. It is already tainted. I will fill this role so that someone else does not have to, and you will be in danger every moment that you spend with me."

Rosie's stomach tightened. Her tummy hurt. The tension began to build within her. Hearing Severus talk that way was too much for her to handle. She wrapped her arms around her torso, expression downcast.

Severus could sense her impending reaction and shook himself out of the fervor than he seemed to have been caught up in. She was a little girl, she was not an adult. He had been speaking to her as if she were a grown witch. No, this was a child, but she would not remain a child much longer if the prickling of his dark mark was any indicator.

Rose Potter had precious few childlike experiences left, and Severus would be damned if he would be the one to rob her of them.

He straightened up, and moved over to her allowing the girl to slump against him, taking her into his arms. It was in that instant that Severus was sure of it. Under his care, no harm would come to Rose Potter, not ever again. He would do everything in his power to see that her suffering was minimized.

"Relax Rose. You can control this. Take deep breathes and relax. "I am sorry, I sometimes forget that you are still a child. How you have managed to come through so much hardship and retain your innocence is beyond me, but I might have to take a page out of your book when this is all over."

"When what is over? You talk like Voldemort is back, but he isn't." She insisted. "He isn't." Her breathing was laboured.

"Not yet my child, but he will be, and it will be soon. I don't say that to frighten you, but to warn you. The world is going to become a lot darker than it is now, and you are going to be at the centre of it."

"I don't want to." Rose growled, her body arching against him.

"You will not be alone. Not for a second. I will be here, Albus will be here. Even your blasted werewolf will be by your side."

The girl's body began to soften, she closed her eyes, and the reopened them, green orbs met black and Rose sighed. "I have not been behaving in a manner consistent with my recovery." She admitted weakly.

"I am well aware." He informed her.


	46. Chapter 46

Rosie jolted upright in bed letting out a horrified shriek, pain shooting through her scar. Sweat coated her body and the nightshirt that she wore clung to her moist skin. Moonlight streamed in through the window and her breathing laboured, chest heaving.

In almost an instant, she had two men in her room, their eyes wild and worried. Rosie brought her knees up to her chest, her bare legs warm from the blankets.

"Rosie, what's wrong?" Moony bent down to sit on the bed, resting his hand on her knee.

Sirius stood back observing them. Rose clasped her hand to her forehead trying in vain to squash the ache that emanated from it.

"I was dreaming." She breathed shakily. "Voldemort, he killed a muggle. Nagini, his snake was there. He's plotting something."

"What is she talking about Remus? Voldemort's dead."

"He's not dead, he's not dead. He wants me dead. He wants to kill me." She was beginning to panic now. "He's plotting something."

Rosie removed her hand from her forehead and it was streaked with blood. "Fuck!" Sirius shouted. "Remus, we have to go get Dumbledore!" Moony was on his feet in an instant. He stroked Rosie's cheek quickly,

"It'll be ok sweetie, I'll be right back." He said as he left the bedroom, heading towards the floo in the sitting room.

Sirius moved to kneel in front of the bed.

"Let me see." He commanded gently, prying her hand away from her scar where it had flown up to rest again.

Rosie had moved to sit with her legs off the bed now, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that she was only in her sleep shirt and knickers. Sirius didn't seem to notice. The man pulled out his wand and pointed it at her scar, vanishing the blood and doing the same to her hand.

"Listen, whatever happened, you're safe now ok? We've got you." He tried to give her a small smile.

Sirius wasn't very good at comforting her, but her heartbeat did begin to slow. The dream had seemed so real, it felt so real. Voldemort had spoken parseltongue to the snake. Why would she dream that?

"Hey, look at me." He coaxed. "You're fine." Sirius brought her into a hug, but his fingers dug into her sides and Rosie squirmed under is touch, giggling madly.

He was tickling her, and she quickly forgot about the dream, arching away from him.

"Siri stop!" She shrieked, her chin making contact with his shoulder as she tried to worm herself away from his hands.

"What?" He grinned. "Is something bothering you?" A glint in his eyes as he trapped her in his grasp.

That is how the pair was found, by Remus who brought in tow Dumbledore, followed by Severus.

Sirius was still barking with laughter and Rosie had to wipe the tears from her eyes that the tickling had brought about. Severus was glaring at Sirius so intensely that she thought he may burn a hole into the man's skull, but Dumbledore's eyes were alight with amusement.

"Well, I dare say that we needed a bit of laughter." The headmaster smiled softly.

Sirius stood up, his face returning to its previous seriousness. Rosie stood up as well. The mood shifted in the room once again and the tension was evident. Dumbledore approached her and traced his finger across her scar. Once all of the preceding amusement had died in her chest, Rose flushed red and she became once again aware of her state of dress.

She was looking up into the faces of four grown men, all of whom were staring at her intently, and she was basically nude in her t-shirt and underpants. Not to mention, she was kind of backed into a corner. Turning to meet Severus' eyes, she tried to convey this sudden embarrassment. Rosie was entirely at the mercy of everyone here. She crossed her arms over her stomach.

Severus observed her carefully. "Alright, stand back." He said, almost shoving Moony out of the way to approach her.

He lifted his wand and cast a charm wordlessly. A pair of blue pajama pants came hurdling towards them and Severus caught them deftly. Severus held them out to her, and put his hand on her back to support her weight as she slipped them on.

"Thanks." She muttered, leaning into the potion's professor.

"I would suggest that we continue this conversation in the sitting room. There are far too many bodies in such tight quarters, lest we forget who we are in the presence of." Dumbledore suggested lightly.

Rosie agreed, but she did not say so. Once in the sitting room, Rose took her place next to Severus, curling against him sleepily. Sirius was watching them. He always did that. It was something that annoyed her endlessly.

"Now, my dear, do you mind retelling your dream once more for everyone to hear?" The headmaster requested.

As she retold the events and described the house in which the dream took place, Dumbledore looked more and more concerned, his lips thinning to form a tight line. However, if he was troubled, he did not announce it, nodding his head as she spoke but offering no insight. Moony and Sirius were exchanging worried looks as she spoke, and she couldn't see Severus' face because she was leaning against him, but his body was tense.

When all the facts were exchanged, the headmaster stood up to leave, gazing pointedly at Severus. Rosie didn't want her potions master to go, she had missed him. It had been two weeks since the summer holidays had begun, and she had not seen him once. The full moon wasn't for another week.

While she adored living with Remus, and was even starting to tolerate Sirius' playful attempts to win her affections, she felt her first guardian's absence. Ignoring Sirius' growl of indignation, Rose looked up at Severus from her spot next to him and asked,

"Will you stay till I fall asleep?"

"You are not staying Snivellus." Sirius stated matter of factly before Severus could even open his mouth in reply.

Rosie glared. Moony just sighed and rubbed his temples. "Padfoot, go to bed."

"Please Severus." She implored.

"Go up to bed. I will be along." He conceded stiffly. Rosie sighed and then heaved herself off of the couch and stalked upstairs, sure that they were about to have an argument about her. She had second thoughts though and stopped at the top of the stairs to listen.

"You can't be serious, you're going to let him into her bedroom unsupervised." Sirius hissed.

"You dare suggest…" Severus started angrily.

"Sirius. I am one hundred percent positive that Severus has less than zero sexual attraction towards Rosie, do you think I would let him up there if I thought otherwise?" Moony argued.

"Have you forgotten how he was with Lily? That's the only reason he spends so much time with Rose." Sirius countered.

"I seem to recall several instances of your questionable moral behavior as a Hogwarts student as well Padfoot. We are all adults now."

"If you mean Black's voracious pursuit of anything in a skirt…"

"It wasn't like that!" Sirius growled.

Rosie covered her mouth and giggled softly. Somehow, it was not hard to picture Sirius roaming the school halls, ladies' man extraordinaire. He was quite charming. The man infuriated and offended her on a regular basis, but in the moments when they were alone, he was pretty good at making her like him.

Those moments were few and far between.

"Just go to bed Padfoot, relax, and forget about Severus for once in your life." Moony sounded irritated now, which was a rare occurrence.

"Fine." He conceded finally, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Rosie heard him begin his trek towards the stairs, and instead of moving to hide herself, she waited. When Sirius was close enough to her, she stuck her hands out to catch him, pulling the man to face her so that they were able to talk privately in the hall.

"Woah! Heya Rosie." He smiled.

"Sirius. Please…" She started. "I know that you are just worried about me, and that you don't like Severus at all, but you have to believe me that he is not doing anything inappropriate with me." She tried to reason with him calmly. Rosie was tired of this being brought up over and over again.

"Honey, I know that you feel that way, but you don't know him like I do."

Rose had to close her eyes to avoid expressing her growing frustration. "Siri, I do know him ok? Really well, and you never got to know him in any other capacity than childhood rivals. It's like if twelve years from now, I run into Draco Malfoy and try to convince his family that he is evil just because we didn't get along in school."

Sirius sighed. "I don't know Rose."

"Listen." She started in an urgent whisper. Rose knew that Severus would come up soon, he didn't like Moony enough to stay down there with him. "When we all found out that my professor was a pervert in disguise, I stayed with Severus in his quarters for over a week.

He viewed the memories with me. He saw me naked like a hundred times. He had to force me to use the toilet because I wouldn't get out of bed to do it. If he were going to molest me, he would have done it.

He's never been anything but appropriate and I honestly don't think I would have gotten through that time if it weren't for him."

Sirius was staring at her sadly. She hated talking about Lockhart because she loathed that sad look that she always got.

"Ok Rose. Listen, I know you hate me, but I'm just looking out for you, like your dad would've wanted me to." His mouth was turned downward in a frown.

"I don't hate you Sirius. You just make me so angry. I just… don't need the same things from you that I do from Moony or Severus, can't you understand that?" She pleaded.

"What do you need from me then Rosie?" He asked her seriously, his face contorted with some sort of emotion.

It was in that moment that Severus ascended the stairs, quiet as ever, or maybe he had been there the whole time… and folded his arms. When he caught her gaze, he raised an eyebrow.

"Am I… _interrupting something_?" He drawled.

Rosie glanced back at Sirius who frowned. "No." she responded, and gave Sirius a quick hug.

"We'll talk tomorrow Siri." Rose said as she turned her back and followed Severus into the bedroom.

"We have graduated to nicknames with the mutt now I see." He began.

"Don't you start now too. I am done playing the middleman." She shot back, taking a seat on the bed. Severus sat down across from her.

"Was there any particular reason you requested my presence? Are you alright?" He asked her, his face serious as usual.

"Not really. I just missed you." Rosie shrugged. "I don't like when you're not around."

"I believe the headmaster connected the floo from this residence to my own for a reason."

"I didn't want to bother you for nothing."

"I do not do anything of great importance over the summer holidays." He stated matter of factly.

Rosie furrowed her brows. "Is that your way of saying that you're bored and you want me to visit you?"

"It is an invitation child. You may feel free to _bother me_ , as you put it, when you wish."

"Thanks Severus. You didn't come in here to molest me, did you? Because I have spent far too long trying to convince Sirius otherwise." She smirked and pushed his shoulder playfully.

Severus growled. "I do not find that humorous."

"Would you rather I was still scared of you?" Rosie countered.

Severus just glared. Rose knew that her dour guardian only partook in humor on his own terms.

"Can I go to Neville's grandmother's summer party this year? And do you think I could go to the Quidditch world cup as well?"

"Why don't you ask your wolf?"

"I want to ask you." She said stubbornly.

He harrumphed. "When is the summer party?"

"Next month."

"And the quidditch event?"

"August."

"Fine, but you'll require an adult to go with you to that."

"Will you go?" Rosie smiled brightly.

"At the risk of offending your Gryffindor sensibilities, I'm going to politely decline. Might I suggest someone who is more well versed with the idea of enjoying oneself. Perhaps your _dogfather_."

"He is not my father anything." Rosie crinkled her nose.

"Go with Black, Rose. You'll have more fun."

"Alright, but don't forget I invited you first." She winked.

"Brat." He glared back, but his glare was more like a smirk. Severus moved to sit against the wall, crossed his arms and looked pointedly down at her. Rosie guessed that that was her cue to go to sleep.

"Goodnight Severus."

"Goodnight child."

The next morning when Rose awoke, she was still tired. Not having slept much the previous night due to all of the excitement, she'd resigned herself to spending some extra time on her appearance that morning. As she finished the last of her morning routine, leaving her hair loose and pulling on a Gryffindor sweatshirt and some tights, Rosie realized that it had been officially three weeks since she had seen Cedric.

They had corresponded a bit, but she knew that he had been hurt the last time that they'd been together because she hadn't been in the mood to stick around afterwards.

She made a mental note to invite him over. Gliding down the stairs to the smell of Moony's cooking, Rosie was met by the sight of her guardian and Sirius in the kitchen together on the verge of a food fight, grease dripping down the ex-convict's arm as he poised to fling a piece of bacon at Moony.

"Good morning." She smiled brightly at them.

Moony turned to face her grinning widely and Sirius took the opportunity to toss the bacon that was still in his hand at Moony's face. T

he man responded by lunging at Sirius, trying to trap him in a headlock.

"You two are adorable." Rosie winked as she sat down at the table. "Seriously, you would make a cute couple."

Moony released Sirius from the headlock instantly blushing. Sirius, turned to Moony and winked, making a kissy face. "What Remus you don't think so?" He teased. Rosie moved to give Moony a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm just joking." She smiled, taking a seat at the table. "Can Cedric come over this week?" Rosie aimed the question at Moony.

He stared at her pointedly and she raised an eyebrow silently reminding him of their pact. "Yes, of course he is welcome." From across the table Sirius wrinkled his nose. Rosie glared.

"You haven't asked to see Cedric for a few weeks, did something happen?" Moony asked lightly.

"Erm, kind of."

Sirius cocked an eyebrow now, putting his fork down. "He isn't giving you a hard time, is he?"

"No, more of the opposite."

The two men both seemed lost at her statement so Rosie clarified,

"I guess I am learning that when you shag someone in a broom closet and then don't talk to them for a week, they start to get agitated." She rubbed the back of her head, chagrined.

Sirius spat out his pumpkin juice and Moony's eyes twinkled.

"Indeed, that does tend to leave people sore." He smirked at her.

Rosie raised her hands in defeat. "How was I supposed to know? I'm thirteen. I've never had a boyfriend before."

Her guardian rubbed his face with his hand.

"How old is this Cedric boy?" Sirius glared.

"Seventeen." Moony answered for her and Sirius' eyes widened.

"Not yet!" Rosie interrupted. "He will be seventeen after I turn fourteen!"

"I can feel James rolling in his grave Remus." He whined.

"At least this one's not nearly forty." She glared and Sirius flinched.

"Rosie…" Remus started.

"It's true." She defended. "Though, the next one might be if Cedric keeps acting like hurt puppy."

"Why didn't you want to talk to Cedric? The poor boy probably thinks he's upset you." Moony changed the topic.

"Erm… I don't know. I kind of don't know if I should stay with him. I don't think he suits me very well."

"Oh?" He raised and eyebrow. Sirius was beginning to eat his food again.

"He's too bloody nice." She complained. "I think I need someone with a bit more… erm… initiative. If you get what I mean." She tried to explain awkwardly.

"Stoooooop. I'm trying to eat." Sirius moaned.

"Sorry Siri. Hey, I was gonna ask you. Do you think you might want to go to the quidditch world cup with me in august?" Rose changed the topic.

The man's eyes widened and he turned to Moony who winked. "Yeah Rosie, that sounds really great." The man beamed.

It was the first time she had seen Sirius with a smile that reached his eyes.

"Good, ok. Thanks Siri."

"Anytime kid."


	47. Chapter 47

Rosie was nervous that Saturday. Cedric was supposed to come over, and she had been worried about how he would react to seeing her after three and a half weeks of separation. They had been exchanging letters, but the letters never contained much substance.

Moony had already lectured Sirius into giving them privacy and had convinced the ex-con that it was of great necessity that they go into town to the muggle cinema even though he was one again becoming ill with the impending transformation.

When Rose answered the door, Cedric was smiling. He swept her up into a sincere hug and told her that he had missed her. She felt automatically relieved. After Rose had given him a tour of the house they settled down to chat in her bedroom.

"I wish you had invited me over sooner." Cedric frowned.

"I know, I'm sorry Ced, this is just all new for me, living with Moony… sorry Remus and Sirius."

"Where did you live before?"

"With my muggle aunt and uncle, but they couldn't take care of me anymore so last summer I stayed with the Weasleys." She smiled, trying to mask her frown.

"Oh? Why couldn't they take care of you?"

Rosie grimaced. "Erm, they were never very nice to me. My aunt didn't get along with my mother before she died."

"What does that mean… they weren't very nice to you? They didn't like… hit you or anything did they?"

She couldn't lie to the boy. He was so sincere.

"Not often. Mostly they just made me work a lot… sometimes they didn't feed me." She was hoping that he wouldn't look at her differently.

Rose had never even told Severus or Moony about the Dursleys. The boy could sense her apprehension and he quickly changed his face, forcing a smile.

"That's why you're so skinny huh?" He said poking her stomach.

Rosie let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, I guess."

"Hey, you're so beautiful Rose. You know that right?"

She blushed. "Thanks, Ced." She felt bad for talking badly about the boy to Moony and Sirius. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong with being too nice.

"Can I ask you something really personal Rose? I don't want you to get upset, I'm just curious."

Rosie nodded slowly, her face full of apprehension.

"What's going on in your mind when we have sex? Sometimes I'm so scared that I'll break you, or hurt you, or do something that you don't want, and then sometimes you're like… really into it."

She sighed. "Cedric, I don't want you to be cross with me."

"Why would I…?" He started at the same time that she continued.

"I can't have sex when I'm calm." She blurted out.

Cedric's face contorted in confusion. "What? What do you mean?"

"I… I'm so sorry I haven't told you. I kind of, use sex to calm me down, but I get panicky when we try and do it when I'm already calm."

He was silent for a few minutes and Rosie's stomach churned with anxiety. "Does this have something to do with… um, the person who made you…?"

She nodded. "I have these magical outbursts, like panic attacks where I do really powerful accidental magic and sex stops it from happening."

"Oh wow. That's really shitty Rose… I didn't realize. So, when you're really into it, you're on the verge of a panic attack?"

"Usually."

"And when you're not… then you have like, bad memories?"

She nodded. "Rose… was it another student that did that to you? Or was it like… a man? It wasn't your uncle was it?" He frowned.

"No! No no, Uncle Vernon is a git but he wasn't like that. It was a man not a student, but I can't really talk about it Ced, please." She closed her eyes.

"It's ok, it's fine I won't ask anymore."

"I don't want you to feel like I'm just using you for sex." Rose blurted out after another moment of silence. "Really, I'm glad it's you, you're so kind, and gentle. I just, don't want you to feel bad or anything."

Cedric cocked an eyebrow. "Rose Potter you can use me for anything you want to." He whispered in her ear, slowly pushing her back onto the bed.

She was calm, and anxiety began to overtake her.

"Listen, we haven't really been able to be alone before, without fear of being caught. Let me take my time. I want you to feel safe having sex with me anytime, not just when you're tense. I'll stop the moment you say the word." His eyes met hers as he pleaded with her.

Rosie wasn't sure what he meant by take his time.

Cedric settled her into a horizontal position on the bed, his teeth grazing her neck as he moved on top of her. Rosie's breath caught and she had to fight to stay alert and aware of her surroundings. The boy could feel how stiff she was.

"Relax Rose. You're here with me. Here, let me try something." He offered, helping her back into a sitting position.

Cedric moved slowly, undoing each button of her blouse with care until she was left without. Taking her into his arms, he worked the clips open on her bra. When she was bare chested, the boy took a moment to drink in the sight before him. Rosie, who was used to quick broom closet and drawing room encounters, was not accustomed to undressing herself fully in front of him.

Her mind was beginning to focus more intently on the boy in front of her and he rolled the pad of his thumb lightly over one of her nipples. She let out a soft groan. He took that as a sign of her willingness and relaxed her back against the pillows, taking the same nipple into his mouth swiftly, toying with the other.

Rosie began to ache in between her thighs in a way that she hadn't felt before, negative memories long forgotten as she bucked her hips up to meet his. This was a different type of need, a different feeling, it was like he had created tension within her.

Cedric flicked her nipple one last time and slowly his lips began to travel lower, down her stomach, tongue tracing a line to the waist of her tights. He took the tights in his hands and slid them down her legs and off entirely leaving Rosie only in her knickers.

He was still fully clothed.

Repeating the same action with her underwear, Rose was left fully nude and completely out of her comfort zone. "Ced?"

She asked timidly. "Are you alright?" His voice was earnest.

"I… I think so." She stuttered in reply. The boy pushed her legs apart, causing a blush to spread into her cheeks and down her neck.

"Relax. You're perfect."

"Ced, what are you…?" Rosie started but was cut off, her body arching in pleasure as his tongue delved into her folds.

"Ahhh!" She cried. This feeling was something new.

Her body responded to his touch without thought, fingers curling in his hair, pressing his mouth harder against her as his tongue explored. Cedric reached his hands up and began to tease her nipples once again, the pace of his tongue even as the heat increased between her thighs.

There was tension stoking itself like a fire inside of her belly, impatience for something to happen, but she wasn't sure what it was. Glad that her guardians were not downstairs, Rosie let out a long moan of pleasure, pushing up to meet Cedric's mouth with reckless abandon.

"Ced ugh! Don't stop please!" She cried out as something snapped inside of her.

Losing her senses and succumbing to the pleasure, Rose whimpered, begging him to continue until, with a resounding squeal, her muscles clenched and ecstasy washed over her like water.

"Fuck!" She cried out, falling back against the bed, chest heaving.

"Oh Merlin, Cedric what was that?" Her breathing was still laboured.

"That, dear Rose, was what I should have been doing for you all along." He smiled brilliantly.

"Holy shit." She sighed, and then allowed Cedric to undress himself, and climb on top of her.

He was rock hard, and she found herself completely immersed with desire. She was wet and he slid into her easily. Somehow, it felt smoother than normal. Cedric groaned and raised her legs up so that they were balanced on his shoulders.

His member was buried to the hilt, deep inside of her as Rosie writhed beneath him. This was better. This was probably the best sex they'd ever had. She wondered why he had held out on her for so long.

The pair came together, both sweaty and satisfied.

When they had finished and began to get dressed, Cedric eyed her curiously.

"Was that ok?" He asked her.

"You can do that to me any time you want Mr. Diggory." She laughed, taking his face into her hands and planting a chaste kiss on his swollen lips.

It was in that moment that Rosie heard the door downstairs slam shut and Sirius' voice call into the empty sitting room, "We're home Rosie!"

"Shit." She cursed, still in her knickers.

Cedric was shirtless. Sirius was such a git. He came upstairs and poked his head into her room just as Cedric was pulling the shirt back over his head. The bed was a mess, and Rosie knew that she reeked of arousal, her hair dishevelled.

"Oh god." He cried, covering his eyes and turning away from the scene. Rosie flushed and Cedric turned red as a tomato.

"I can't Rose, fuck. You cannot do that here. Remus!" He called. "Come deal with your child!"

She could hear Moony sigh loudly from downstairs. "Sirius, come down here please! Give Rosie some privacy!" Sirius was still cursing and muttering under his breath as he descended the stairs.

Rose turned to Cedric and tried to shoot him a small smile.

"Wait here, ok? It'll be fine. Siri isn't my guardian. Remus is cool. I'll get it sorted out."

"Are you sure you won't be in trouble?" Cedric started.

"Positive. Just give me a few minutes. Trust me, this is a lot better than if Severus found us."

Trying to arrange herself properly, Rosie quickly threw her hair into a ponytail and walked downstairs to find Moony in a heated argument with Sirius.

"You cannot be fine with this Remus, honestly. She is thirteen. That boy is almost an adult. James would lose his mind!"

Moony's voice was surprisingly firm. "Sirius. James is Rose's father, but he has not had to be here dealing with the aftermath of what happened to her. He has not had to watch her crumble in front of him, or flinch away from his touch. Rosie needs good and positive experiences, you have to understand that."

"Moony, I get that, but it's gross and so inappropriate for her to do that here when we aren't home!"

"Sirius, they are teenagers. Don't make me remind you of your own Hogwarts days."

Rosie coughed from the bottom of the stairs announcing her presence. Both men turned to face her.

"I'm sorry guys. I meant to be done before you got back." She rubbed the back of her neck chagrined. Sirius made a face.

"Rosie, sweetheart. Please listen to me. This is not what your dad would have wanted for you love. He would've wanted you to stay a little girl just a bit longer." Sirius pleaded with her. Anger flashed in her eyes. That was a low blow.

"Not what my dad would have wanted? Are you joking?"

"Sirius." Moony warned from behind.

He ignored the werewolf and moved closer to her. "I'm just worried for you. You've always been a little baby to me. The last thing I want is to see you hurt." He tried.

Rosie sprang forward moving so that she was only inches from Sirius' face. She placed her hands on his chest and brought her lips close to his ear.

"I stopped being a little baby the moment that a grown man decided to hold me down and force his dick into me while I screamed. Maybe if you had been here instead of in bloody Azkaban, that wouldn't have happened."

Sirius' mouth fell open and his face crumpled. Rosie felt instantly guilty.

"Rose." Moony admonished. His face one of disappointment.

"You know what, screw you both. Neither of you have any idea what that was like, and you have no right to say anything about what I do to make myself feel better. Got it? You cringe just thinking about it. I had to live it."

With that, Rosie flew back up the stairs to meet her worried boyfriend. She quickly packed an overnight bag with a few things. The full moon was the following evening. Rose would go and stay with Severus until it was over.

She escorted Cedric out, passing Moony in the kitchen, who was staring at the wall sullenly. Sirius was nowhere to be seen. Cedric made her promise to write and tell her what had happened, and the moment that she had him out the door she rushed over to the floo and tossed the dusty powder into the flames.


	48. Chapter 48

Sirius did not move for hours. Rose`s words had hurt, but they had also delivered to him a blinding revelation. He could not be her father. Moony had told him this ages ago, but he hadn`t listened. He had been so determined to believe that there would still be a spot open to him, but there wasn`t.

Rosie was not a little girl anymore blindly looking for love. She had it already and Sirius was just extra. Hell, he was pretty sure she liked that bloody boyfriend of hers more than she liked him. He`d noticed that Rose didn`t seem to be very close with her friends.

This was completely opposite to Sirius, to how James and Lily had been… it seemed like Rosie had trouble connecting with people her own age. She spent so much time with the greasy bat, Moony, and the older boyfriend, but rarely talked about Hermione, Ron or Neville.

Even Ginny Weasley who she considered her best girlfriend was seldom mentioned. Not once had Sirius heard her express a desire to have them over.

He assumed that this was because Rosie was mature for her age… she had seen things, had things done to her that her friends probably would not comprehend. Sirius had never met anybody who had been raped before. In fact, he had recoiled the first time he`d heard Rose use the word.

He had a hard time associating little Prongs with those images. He had been naïve… believing that only dark wizards, death eaters would be capable of that. Sirius would never have thought that a professor could do that to a little girl. She had been only just twelve from what information he`d been able to gather.

She didn`t keep her friends close because she couldn`t confide in them. That`s why she poured her heart out to adult men. That was probably why she was with a boy three years older that she was. Any boy younger than that might not be able to understand her complex needs. Her humor was dark and biting, too mature for fourteen.

She knew just the right words to cut deeply but was still sensitive enough to feel them. Rosie Potter was something that Sirius Black had never expected, but he still longed to be in her life. Thinking back to Remus` advice that night in his office he wondered if he could be her friend.

Could he see past the image that he`d had in his mind of an innocent baby and come to know Rose for who she was now? A kind, caring, passionate, spit fire of a girl who longed for affection. Could he suppress his instinct to protect her long enough to really listen? Would she let him?

These thoughts and more circled around in his mind as Sirius formulated a plan. He was determined not to let his best friend`s daughter fall through the cracks. If being her friend was what it took, then he would be the best damn friend she`d ever had.

When Rosie came out of the fire on the other end, she was in a small sitting room, dark furniture decorating the space, books lining the walls, and everything in perfect order.

Predictable.

She shook her head. Severus was not in the room. Rose felt awkward exploring his home without him, but she didn`t want to be alone. She moved through a long hallway into another room, which was closed off. J

olting in surprise, she turned around, her ears picking up her guardian´s voice, clear and cold as usual caught in a conversation with another person. His voice was coming from behind another wall, which seemed to lead into the kitchen.

"I would advise you to begin gathering your affairs, tying up loose ends, and creating allies Lucius. He will not be forgiving if he believes even for a second that you have abandoned the cause."

"Severus, you cannot possibly believe that he will return. You are in Dumbledore`s pocket, surely he`d kill you on sight."

"I am not concerned." His voice was silky.

Rosie didn`t want to eavesdrop. She moved forward and balanced herself on the frame of the wall, crossing her arms. Now in plain view, she could see that Severus stood across from Lucius Malfoy, hands resting on the table and eyes fixed away from her and set on the blond man.

Malfoy was too enraptured in the conversation to notice her standing there.

"I never quite understood where your loyalties truly lie Severus."

"Nor I yours." He responded evenly. The men were drinking. It looked like maybe fire whiskey. Rosie cleared her throat. Lucius Malfoy nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned towards her, eyes wide.

"I was not aware you had a guest." He started.

Severus rounded on her then and cocked an eyebrow, "Nor was I."

"Erm. Hi." She began awkwardly.

Malfoy stood up then and set his glass down.

"Now, I am especially uncertain. I only hope for your sake Severus that the Dark Lord does not share my concern, should he be made privy." And with that, the man moved to leave, having to pass her on his way out.

Rosie stood tall and look him in the eyes as he passed, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Miss Potter." He nodded as he left the kitchen, moving towards the sitting room where she assumed that he would floo from.

When Rosie was left alone with the potions master, he stared at her, his brows furrowing.

"I was under the impression that you would not be arriving until tomorrow night." He started.

"Erm… yeah, I kind of had a fight with Sirius and thought I would see if I could come a day early?" Her voice was unsure.

"Of course." Severus nodded curtly. He was acting weird. "I`m sorry for interrupting your conversation. I sort of came here on instinct."

"It is not relevant." He motioned for her to sit, banishing the firewhiskey and starting some tea silently. "Did you bring your necessities, or will it be necessary to find you new ones?"

"No, I brought stuff, don`t worry. You could always transfigure me little owl pajamas again though if you wanted. That was sweet."

He raised an eyebrow. "What did you fight with Black about?"

Rosie glared remembering the argument. He had ruined a perfectly good day with his personal issues. "Cedric." She replied evenly.

"Mm. you had a visit from Diggory? I had rather hoped you had forgotten about him." Severus half smirked.

"You are all so annoying. Cedric is literally so nice. He is way nicer than I am."

"He is also three years older than you, and a sixteen-year-old boy. Do not be so easily fooled."

She rolled her eyes. "Just because you and Sirius were creeps at sixteen doesn`t mean that all boys are."

Severus appeared affronted. "I was nothing like Black."

"Ha. Yeah, I can`t really picture you snogging people`s brains out in a broom closet. Sorry sir." She laughed.

"Please Merlin do not try." He choked.

A sudden realization hit her like a brick as she remembered Sirius` conviction that he had been in love with her mom.

"Wait. You didn`t _do_ anything with my mother did you?" Her eyes widened at the thought.

Severus winced and shut his eyes, rubbing his temples as though he had a headache. "This conversation is over now."

"You DID!" She shrieked. "Oh my god gross Severus! That's so weird!" Rosie covered her mouth with her hand trying to muffle her incoming laughter.

"Enough." He said as he struggled to turn himself into 'Professor Snape' again. "Your mother and I were never romantically involved."

"Somehow I don`t believe you."

"What did your dogfather say to make you so upset?" Severus changed the topic stiffly. His demeanor shifting.

"Please don`t call him that. He is not my father."

"And your mother was not my lover. Now we are even. What did he say?"

Rosie groaned. "He just gets so uppity about the sex thing. He keeps bringing up my dad, like I want to talk about how James Potter would feel about my sex life."

"I`m sure your father would be just as enthused as the rest of us." He drawled sarcastically, glaring at her. "Are you still panicking?"

"You know, actually, I have been doing pretty good on the whole outburst front. I haven`t been having them."

"And yet you are still partaking in sexual activity."

"Can we not do this? I don`t want to feel guilty anymore for doing something that makes me feel better."

"Please reassure me that you are at the very least remembering your contraceptive charm."

Rosie was about to open her mouth to say that she was not stupid, but then her stomach lurched.

She was stupid.

So caught up in what Cedric had done to her today, the charm had not even crossed her mind until now. Her eyes went wide for a split second. Severus could read her like a book.

"You idiotic child. Do you have any idea how disastrous an unwanted pregnancy would be for you right now? Any idea at all?" He was cross with her, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Rosie just covered her face with her hands. "I`m sorry sir." She whined.

"Do not apologize to me. Apologize to yourself. There is no excuse for this senselessness. The consumption of a second emergency contraceptive potion within a two-month time period is unacceptable not to mention dangerous."

"Severus I…"

"Do not make excuses. This is exactly why children should not have sex. You are not responsible enough. I am going to have a serious discussion with the Diggory boy. The dunderhead is almost of age, he should not still be this thoughtless."

"Oh Merlin, do not talk to Cedric, please."

"If you ever so much as think about sex without the charm again you will not like the outcome. I am going to mention this to your wolf. He is in a better position to be monitoring you." Her guardian`s voice was threatening.

Rosie flushed red with indignation but she didn`t say anything. She had been really stupid.

With that, Severus spun on the spot and stalked off down the hall. Rose followed him like a puppy. She turned into such a little girl around Severus. Unsurprisingly, he had opened the door to what appeared to be a potions lab. Still glaring at her, he motioned for her to sit on a stool in front of an empty cauldron.

"You are going to make it." Severus said. She could tell that this was not optional.

Staring up at him with wide eyes, he looked at her and then turned away to gather the ingredients. When he was through, he stood behind her and folded his arms.

"Begin by slicing the valerian root into exactly three-quarter inch pieces…"

It had taken Rosie nearly two hours to brew the emergency contraceptive potion correctly. She wondered if Severus really didn`t have any on hand or if he was just punishing her. Rose also wondered why Moony hadn`t suggested that she take this potion the first time that he had confronted her about Cedric.

She reasoned that maybe he did not know about it. Moony seemed even less likely than Severus to be having casual rendezvous. He was basically a saint. When she had finished, Severus put out the flame and began to ladle the potion into several vials.

Lastly, he tipped the ladle into a mug that he`d conjured and eyed it meaningfully.

"I am so going to regret this in the morning." She cringed.

"Even more regrettable would be if you died in childbirth at age fourteen because you could not remember to cast a simple charm." The potions master spat.

Rosie did not reply to that. He was really pissed off at her and she felt like an idiot. The potion went down easily, but she knew that the next morning she would suffer. Blushing, Rose realized that she hadn`t brought any feminine hygiene products because she wasn`t expecting her period for another two weeks.

This was going to be so awful. Severus had barely spoken an unnecessary word to her, and he`d sent her upstairs to the guestroom early where she ate dinner alone.

That evening, when Rosie had finished her shower still feeling dejected, she returned to the guestroom to find a box of menstrual products sitting perched on top of a folded pair of pajamas.

They were pink with little owls on them.

She wanted to cry. Severus always took such good care of her even when he was cross.


	49. Chapter 49

Rosie slept fitfully for a few hours and then awoke in the wee hours of the morning, her whole body seizing with cramps. When the first wave of them hit, she cried out, doubling over in bed.

Oh, she was such an idiot. Breathing heavily, she tried to wipe the tears that were beginning to sting in her eyes. Feeling a warmth pooling between her legs as Rose sat up and realized that she had bled all over herself, and all over the bed.

Severus must have heard her cry out because there was a soft knock at the door. Ashamed and embarrassed, she began to cry. Her guardian turned on the light and moved over to her, taking in the mess that she had made. Instead of looking disgusted or angry, he knelt beside her and place a hand on her back.

Rosie felt empty. In that moment, she longed for her mother, for a kind of comfort that a man, even Severus just could not give her. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture her mother`s face, tried to imagine how it would feel to be held by her.

The fantasy did not last as Severus cut into the silence. "Can you stand?" His voice was soft. Something inside of her snapped then, and Rosie leaned against the potions master and whispered in a tone that was barely audible,

"I want my mom." He stiffened.

"I want my mom." She sobbed again, her hand curling into the fabric of Severus` pajama top.

"I know. Your mother would want nothing more than to be here with you." He tried to comfort her.

She nodded, and then let out a simultaneous mewl of pain.

"Alright, I`ve got you child." He soothed as he allowed her to lean on him, helping Rose to the bathroom.

Before he left her alone in the loo, Severus took out his wand and cleaned her pajama pants carefully. She heard him do the same to the bedsheets while she fixed herself.

When she had finished, Rosie gingerly made her way to the door again which wasn`t shut all the way. Severus heard her fumbling around and opened it, taking her once again under his arm. For the entirety of that morning, he stayed by her bedside as she writhed and whimpered with the torment of her own mistakes.

He did not utter a single unkind word. Instead, he read to her from Potion`s Digest, and when she insisted, Quidditch Weekly. The pair had moved into the sitting room in the late morning and Rosie was surprised to see the tall frame of the headmaster appear in the fire as he stepped through to where they sat.

She was covered in a blanket, hands clutched around her middle.

"Severus my boy, I thought that Miss Rose wasn`t coming to stay until tonight." He smiled.

"Yes, that was the plan; however, she deemed her guardians to be inadequate in providing care as of yesterday afternoon."

Dumbledore turned to her now. "Rose, are you ill dear?" He asked, taking in her pained expression. She flushed red and the older man raised an eyebrow, turning to Severus.

"She is nursing the effects of her second emergency contraceptive potion in two months." He said dryly.

"Ah. Things are well with young Mr. Diggory, I take it?" Dumbledore asked. Then he continued, "You mustn't tell him yet, it's a surprise, but he is to be made head boy this year."

Rosie smiled through the pain. "That`s great, he`ll be pleased." She replied. Cedric had really wanted to be head boy.

"You may want to reconsider that decision Albus considering the boy`s stunning disregard for adult responsibilities such as the use of contraception." He growled aiming his insult at Rosie.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Severus my boy, any news on the world cup?"

"It seems that there is a group of them planning a show, but nothing more. It is of no connection to the dark lord aside from in name." He drawled slowly. Rosie`s ears perked up at the mention of the world cup.

"What do you mean a show?" She asked, turning to Severus.

"A death eater attack."

"What?! There`s going to be a death eater attack? You don`t have to go do you?" Rose fretted.

Severus cringed at her question. "It seems that they want to send a reminder that they are still present. There will be no specific targets. It is meant only to insight fear. I will not be in attendance." He continued.

"Will it be dangerous to go to the world cup?" She looked at him pointedly.

"I do not foresee an issue as long as you do not leave Black`s side."

Rosie hesitated, already feeling bad for what she was about to ask, "Erm, is Sirius ok to…like protect me? I mean, he`s been in Azkaban a long time…"

Dumbledore interjected softly. "I assure you my dear, Mr. Black remains a competent wizard. He was an auror you know. For a short while."

"He was?" Her eyes widened. Rose had not known that.

"I do believe that the Weasleys along with Amos and Cedric Diggory will be there as well. You will not be by yourselves."

Rosie`s heart skipped a beat at the thought of meeting Mr. Diggory.

"On second thought… perhaps it is as you say, too dangerous to attend." Severus scowled at her.

Rosie reached out and swatted his arm lightly. "Prat."

Dumbledore`s eyes twinkled amusedly at their interaction. The headmaster got up to leave, citing the necessity to brief Sirius and Remus on the situation. Before he could turn away, Rosie stopped him.

"Sir, wait." She whispered. "Can you take a note to Moony for me? Please?"

"Why certainly my dear."

She tried to get up to look for some paper, but Severus stopped her, summoning a quill, ink, and a small parchment. Rosie smiled tightly in thanks. Then, she wrote,

 _Moony. I`m sorry. I love you so much. Please be safe tonight. Yours, Rosie._

 _PS- Please remind Siri that I don`t hate him._

She handed the note over and the headmaster smiled and nodded, bidding farewell and making his way out through, the blast of green flame engulfing him. She turned back to Severus.

"Sir, do you think that my mom would like Cedric?"

Her guardian`s eyes widened at the question and then he sighed loudly as he usually did when she asked odd questions.

"The Diggory boy is the Hufflepuff incarnate of James Potter, Rose. For that reason, I am inclined to say yes."

As usual, he lingered over the name, `James Potter` like it was acid on his tongue.

Rosie choked. "Oh god Severus. Why would you say that?! I`m gonna have to go scrub myself clean now."

The potions master appraised her carefully and then said,

"It is not uncommon for girls in general to seek out men who are like their fathers." His tone was awkward, as though he did not want to be having this conversation.

"Stop. You don`t actually think I have some sort of Oedipus complex, do you? Wouldn`t he have had to be around for that to happen?"

"Not necessarily."

Rosie shivered violently. "Ok let's talk about something else now."

"I couldn`t agree more." Severus drawled.


	50. Chapter 50

When Rosie arrived home the next day, she immediately busied herself taking care of Moony. Severus had wanted to come talk to him right away, but Rose had convinced him that it would be better when he was feeling better. Moony had been really happy to see her and she felt immediately guilty for getting angry with him the other day.

She kissed her guardian`s cheek and stroked his hair as he stubbornly tried to get up to hug her. "Don`t get up Moony, it`s already forgiven."

"Oh Rosie, what did I ever do without you?" He asked her softly, as she passed him some oatmeal and a hot cup of tea. "How was your time with Severus?" Moony croaked.

"It was nice." She smiled back. "He is such a prat though. He thinks I have an Oedipus complex."

Moony choked out a laugh, tea dribbling down his chin. "I`m sorry?"

"You know, the want to have sex with your father thing…"

"Yeah, yeah I know what it is my love. Why would he say that?" He was obviously trying to mask his amusement.

"He says that Cedric is the Hufflepuff version of James Potter."

Moony was silent for a moment. "I hate to say it Rosie, but he might be kind of right." He admitted. "Cedric is a lot like your father. He even looks like him, that hair tussle that he does."

"Moony…" She whined. "I told you so that you would reassure me, not so that you`d agree."

"Oh, well in that case, you are right, he is nothing like James. Severus must be mad." He said, but he was still smirking.

"I hate you all." She covered her face in embarrassment.

"Say, isn`t the Longbottom`s party coming up this weekend?" Moony changed the subject expertly.

"Yeah, it is, it`ll be nice to see my friends again for the evening."

"I bet. Just be careful. Don`t drink anything stronger than butterbeer, yeah?" He winked.

"Is it ok if Ced brings me back when it`s over? He won`t stay."

"Of course, dear. Hey, I meant to ask, what do you want to do for your birthday this year?"

"I hadn't really thought about it to be honest Moony."

"I was thinking maybe we could do a little dinner here? Me, Padfoot, Severus, and Cedric?"

Rosie`s eyes widened. "Erm… do you think that`s a good idea?" Her voice was wary.

"I don`t see why not love. I`m sure everyone will be on their best behavior."

Rosie though back to Severus threatening to talk to Cedric about contraception and cringed. "We`ll see Moony, it`s still a few weeks way."

When Sirius finally stumbled out of bed around eleven, Rosie had some porridge and tea still heated up for him.

"Thanks Rosie." He said bleary eyed. By that time, Moony was already sitting up and reading his copy of the prophet.

"Did you have a good time with Snape?" He asked, wrinkling his nose. It seemed like they had a collective agreement not to speak about what was said the other day.

Rosie nodded… "Say, Sirius, Cedric doesn`t remind you of anyone that you know or have known does he?"

Moony chuckled from the couch. Sirius` expression changed to one of confusion. "Uh, not really, why?"

"Oh, thank Merlin. See Moony, not true. Sirius is the ultimate authority on this subject."

Her guardian raised his hands in defeat, "You believe what you want to believe my love."

"What am I missing?" Sirius looked at Moony.

"What she`s really asking you, is if Cedric is like James."

"Moony! You`re not supposed to plant the idea in his head!"

"Like James? In what way?" He was interested now. "I haven`t really ever talked to the kid. I guess they kind of look alike."

"Urgh. Look at what you`ve done now!" Rosie glared at the werewolf.

"What?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow.

"Severus thinks that Rosie has an Oedipus Complex." Moony supplied.

Sirius dropped his spoon. "Guys, I`m eating."

"Thank you! Somebody with some sense!" Rose rejoiced, hugging Sirius around the neck from behind. She quickly looked for a new conversation. "Hey Siri, I didn`t know that you were an auror."

"Who told you that?" He asked casually.

"Oh, it was Dumbledore when he came to see Severus the other day."

"I was for like, one minute." Sirius winked. "Still…" She prompted. "That`s pretty neat."

"Yeah well, I was mostly just a cocky bastard. It was Remus there who got me through the training. He would sit up all night tutoring me for the exams, and then he would go to work himself."

Rosie didn`t want to ask why Moony didn`t become an auror too. She thought that she probably already knew. Instead, she shot a wide smile towards her favorite werewolf and said,

"I wish you were coming back to teach us defense again next year."

Dumbledore had offered the position to him again, but Moony had declined, too nervous that the student body would find out about his condition if he were around too long.

The week passed evenly, and Rosie, by Friday morning was panicking. She had forgotten to buy something to wear for the Longbottom's party, which was that evening, so she was left staring blankly into her closet. She didn`t even know what she was supposed to wear to a wizard social event, regular clothes, robes, a dress? Figuring that the person who was most likely to know would be Sirius, she called him into the room.

"Heya Rosie, is everything ok?"

"Erm, you`re a pureblood. I need your help."

"Ok…" He replied cautiously.

"What do I wear to the Longbottom`s summer party?" She asked, blushing. "I`ve never been to a wizard party before."

Albeit a bit awkwardly, Sirius obliged in helping her create an outfit. In the end they chose a flowy blue summer dress with some small, strappy heels. Everything of course was accompanied by the locket that Severus` had given her.

She never took it off.

When the evening descended upon them, he even helped her charm her hair from its usual straight texture into smooth waves.

"How do you know how to do that?" She asked him curiously.

Moony, who was watching, interjected. "Padfoot knows a lot of charms to impress the ladies." Sirius rubbed his neck, chagrined but did not deny it.

"You look lovely sweetheart." Moony said as he kissed her cheek.

Cedric was waiting downstairs when they had finished. He looked very charming in his black dress robes and held out a corsage for her to wear around her wrist. It was a white rose.

She greeted him with a slightly less than chaste kiss, her hand moving to press against his chest. Cedric eyed Moony and Sirius and blushed, running his fingers through his hair. Out of the corner of her eye, Rosie saw Sirius` eyes widen.

"Moony did you just see that. He did the thing, you know, with his hair. Fucking hell. Snape was right." Rosie glared.

"Oh my god, shut up. Shut up right now." She warned.

Cedric was confused. "What did I do? What did Professor Snape say about me?"

"Absolutely nothing." Rosie said firmly.

"You just remind us all of someone that we used to know." Moony`s eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Oh, who was that?" Cedric offered. He was obviously nervous to be there.

"We are leaving right now." Rosie confirmed, dragging him by the wrist towards the fireplace. "I will bring her home safely!" Cedric called as she pulled him into the flames with her and shouted the address.

When the pair arrived at the party, it was already in full swing. The Longbottom Manor was very nice. It was large and open, and there was a live band already set up and playing in the center of what appeared to be a dance floor. Ron and Hermione rushed over to them followed closely by Ginny and Dean Thomas. That was new.

They took turns embracing and then Ginny, who was eying her and Cedric pointedly made her promise that she`d tell her everything later. Rosie knew that she wouldn`t tell the girl everything. Almost immediately, Cedric went to grab drinks for he and Rose.

Coming back with two butterbeers, he made small talk with her friends for a little while, until Neville came over, greeted them shyly, and then announced that they were going to have some sort of entertainment going on. Everyone began gathering together in a crowd around the stage that the band had previously occupied. The first person to come onto the stage was a man the size of professor Flitwick who was accompanied by several large snakes.

Rosie giggled to herself. This could be fun. Cedric was staring at her confused. As the man began his act, he had the snakes do all sorts of tricks, do things to make the people just frightened enough to enjoy themselves. Rose tapped Cedric on the shoulder, "That snake wants to eat him." She whispered to him.

"You can understand it?" His eyes widened.

"Yes. The other one is only doing this because the trainer promised to feed him a live cat."

"That`s disgusting." Her boyfriend wrinkled his nose.

When the first act was done, the announcer came out and informed them that they would have a celebrity guest joining them that evening. Rosie didn`t even think twice about it, blinded by the fun that she was having.

When Gilderoy Lockhart stepped out onto the stage smiling, her blood ran cold. Her friends clapped even though they were not very fond of the ex-defense professor, but Rosie was beginning to panic.

What was she supposed to do in this situation?

The man pinpointed her almost instantly from the crowd and winked. She had to get away. Her heart was beating a thousand miles a minute. Cedric, who was oblivious to her suffering, did not think twice about it when she announced that she had to use the loo. Once in the stall, Rosie began to panic in earnest.

She could not be here. The doors on the stalls began to rattle with the force of her emotion. She had to find a way to numb herself. They hadn`t even been there an hour. Her friends, Cedric, they would be suspicious if she just up and left. It wasn`t fair that she had to be the one to leave. He should have to leave, but nobody knew what he had done to her.

It felt like an eternity that she sat there on the floor of the bathroom, and when Rose finally worked up the nerve to get up and rejoin her friends, Lockhart had finished whatever it was that he was doing and had begun to mingle with the other guests. Rosie spotted Cedric, and ran over, taking his hand and pulling him away.

"Hey, you were in there a long time, are you feeling ok?" The boy asked, his face full of concern.

"I think I need something a bit stronger than butterbeer." She admitted weakly, trying to keep her body turned away from where she thought that Lockhart was.

Cedric was nervous to allow her near the suspicious punch that had been set out for the adult guests, but Rosie insisted. Numerous times. She tried to act normally with her boyfriend, with her friends, but she was looking over her shoulder every two minutes, pinpointing the man`s exact location, her body unable to relax.

A couple hours had passed, and Rose Potter was most definitely drunk. Cedric was beginning to fret, knowing that he was the one who was going to have to bring her home to Moony and Sirius, but she wasn`t thinking about that.

Instead, Rosie was thinking about two big, strong hands, holding her down. Hot breath on her neck, and white-hot pain. It took every ounce of restraint not to explode, not to cry, or scream from the rooftops what he had done to her. Cedric seemed to be getting agitated.

"Rose. You need to stop drinking, what is the matter with you?"

"Nothing Ced, I`m having a great time, loosen up." She slurred, falling into his chest as he tried to move her off the dance floor.

"No, god Rose, Professor Lupin is going to murder me. C`mon. I need to get you home."

"You spoil sport." Rosie laughed, trying to mask the tears that wanted to fall. She tried to pull him into an abandoned room, her hand moving into his robes. There were still people around them, and Cedric pushed her away sharply.

"No way am I having sex with you like this. What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Nothing, I`m exactly the same as always." She tripped over herself and he caught her. Rosie seized the opportunity to slip her hand once again into her robes, taking him firmly into her hands. Cedric recoiled.

"Rose fuck this. I am not doing this right now. You are acting like an idiot." He threw up his hands and turned away.

Rosie tried to call after him, but it was too late at that point. Cedric was gone, and she was alone and drunk out of her mind in an empty drawing room. It was only then that she allowed the tears to fall. Curling into herself on the floor, she sobbed. Nothing about this was fair. She couldn`t even have a nice time out with her friends without being accosted by her past.

Cedric didn´t want her. He had rejected her and called her an idiot.

He had left her here all alone. Rose didn`t even know how she was going to get back home. She could barely walk on her own let alone floo. The night was beginning to cool down and now Rosie was shivering and sobbing at the same time. Her whole body heaved with the force that it took not to destroy the Longbottom`s spare room.

Somebody must have heard her sobs, because the door to the drawing room opened slowly to reveal an intruder. It was Draco Malfoy. The boy's eyes widened at the sight of her, his nemesis, in such a fragile condition. It looked like he might turn around and leave, but then Rosie´s body heaved again, and she let out a whimper.

"Potter, what the fuck?" He growled. Moving towards her. Rosie flinched away from him and tried to stand up. She couldn`t do it on her own, and the boy caught her.

"Malfoy just leave me alone. Please."

"You are drunk." He stated coldly. "Why the fuck is Rose Potter drunk off her rocker at a summer party?"

Rose let out another sob. "He raped me." She sniveled, falling forward into the awful boy`s chest. She had to tell someone.

"What? …Who?" Malfoy turned around as if he were looking for someone. "Was it fucking Diggory?"

"N..n..noooo. "Rosie wailed. "Lockhart. He raped me, when he was our teacher and n…now, he`s here."

"Fuck." Malfoy swore again. "That`s messed up."

Rosie screeched as she felt something scuttle across her foot. It was a huge black beetle. Malfoy let her go briefly and picked it up, tossed it out the window, and then returned to her side. He looked beyond uncomfortable.

Rose clung onto his robes, pulling him closer. She needed to forget, she needed to release the tension that was trapped inside of her. "What the hell are you doing?" the boy snapped, pushing her away.

"Will you just, fuck me?" She pleaded, trying to pull him into a sloppy kiss.

"Potter. You are piss drunk and I hate you. You hate me."

"I don`t care. I just need to forget. Please."

The boy hesitated, but Rosie did not. She lunged forward, trapping his mouth with her own, and pulled him onto the nearest setee. Fucking Draco Malfoy was so much different than having sex with Cedric. He was rough and demanding.

He held her arms down as he entered her. It was oddly satisfying.

Rosie arched into him as he kept her locked in a bruising kiss. He had been the one to cast the contraceptive charm, not her. The Slytherin boy pounded into her, groaning and alternating between tugging on her hair and pushing her down farther into the couch.

She came more than once, supressing for a moment the fire than had been burning beneath the surface. When he had finished, he rolled off her, buckling his pants back up again and waiting for her to pull on her underwear.

"That never happened." He stated.

Rosie nodded her head in agreement, trying to stand, but falling over from the alcohol still coursing through her system.

"Merlin Potter, where do you live?" He asked tightly, his arms coming to close around her again.

She gave him the name of Moony`s flat, and he pulled her toward the nearest fireplace.

As they landed in the sitting room, Moony and Sirius, who had both been waiting up for her, stood up in surprise. Malfoy was supporting her body, and Rose knew that her face was red and blotchy from crying.

"Mr. Malfoy, what is the meaning of this?" Moony demanded in a voice that she`d never heard him use before. "Get the fuck away from her." Sirius growled in support.

Malfoy released her into Moony`s arms and stepped back. "Hey. I just found her like this ok? She`s piss drunk and going off about a fucking professor that raped her."

"Shit." Sirius cursed. "Oh Rosie."

Malfoy groaned. "I`m not going to say anything to anyone, I just thought she needed help. That Diggory shmuck abandoned her."

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. We`ve got it from here." Moony nodded. The Slytherin turned away and left just as quickly as he had come, and she was left alone with her guardian and Sirius.

It was Moony who spoke first. "Honey, what happened?" His voice was wrought with emotion.

Rosie started to cry again, curling into him. "He was there."

"Who was there my love?"

"Lockhart." She sobbed as she buried her face roughly into his chest.

Sirius opened his mouth from beside them, "Is that…?" He started, and she could feel Moony nod.

"Oh, Sweet pea, why didn`t you come home right away?" Moony held her tightly to him.

"I wanted to stay, it`s n…not fair. I sh…shouldn`t have to leave."

"I know, I know Rosie. It`s ok. I`m not upset with you."


	51. Chapter 51

Rosie slept in Moony`s bed that night. She had been almost inconsolable, her mind, which had left reason behind at the Longbottom manor, was torturing her repeatedly with the events of the evening.

She had seen Lockhart, she`d gotten herself drunk, offended Cedric, and then Rose Potter had cheated on her lovely, sweet, and caring boyfriend with Draco bloody Malfoy. She had slept with Malfoy, told him about Lockhart.

Severus was going to kill her. Moony had been so understanding. He`d wrapped her up in a big fuzzy blanket and pulled her against him in a restless sleep. For that reason, Rosie found herself snaking her way out of his grasp as quickly as she possibly could around three AM. She could not vomit on him too. Just barely making it to the bathroom on time, Rosie leaned over the toilet bowl and began to empty her guts, retching and moaning, her skin clammy.

It felt as though the nausea would never pass. Her head split open with pain, dehydration lurking uncomfortably through her veins, drawing every ounce of hope that she might still have from her skin, which was now pearly with sweat. Two arms closed around Rosie as she leaned over the toilet bowl once again, hands moving up to collect her long dark hair, pulling it back and out of her face.

"Ok Rosie, I`ve gotcha." Siri soothed, one hand now holding her hair and the other rubbing her back.

She let out a sob. How had everything gotten so out of control? Rosie had been happy. She`d been happy and then he`d come along and ruined it and now she was a mess all the time. Now she was growing up and changing and becoming a permanent disaster.

A year ago, Rose would have recoiled fiercely at even the thought of having sex on purpose, she had barely even known what it was. Now she was… well she felt like, a slut.

"Oh Sirius, I am so messed up." She groaned into the toilet bowl.

"No. No you`re not Rose. You`re hurt and there`s a difference, you hear me?"

"I did this to myself. I think I hurt myself on purpose Siri. I just feel so dirty, all the time."

"Don`t say that Rosie." He whined. "You are not dirty. You`re sweet and caring and perfect and please just don`t think that you deserve any of this." Sirius begged her. They were both sat on the bathroom floor.

"I hurt everyone that I love. Moony, Severus, you, Cedric. I ruin everything that I touch."

"No sweetie you don`t. Remus and me, we`re fine. Snape is fine. Cedric, well I don`t know what Cedric is but he`ll be fine too."

Rosie looked up into Sirius` eyes, guilt washing over her like cold water. "I slept with Draco Malfoy. On purpose."

The man`s eyes widened.

"I don't even know why! I`m not even sure I really wanted to." She cried softly. "I just did, and he let me, and now Cedric is going to hate me, and I told Malfoy about Lockhart. I shouldn`t have done that."

Sirius nodded understandingly and pulled her into a soft hug, his chin resting on the top of her head, but he didn`t say anything.

Finally, he sighed and whispered, "I`m so sorry that this man, this Lockhart, made you hurt this badly."

"Sometimes I wish…sometimes I wish I`d just died with my parents." Rose confessed. She had never told that to anyone before.

Sirius` grip on her tightened.

"No, you don`t." He shook his head fiercely. "You just want to stop hurting. You don`t want to die Rose. I promise that someday you will be so glad that you lived. I am so glad that you lived. Moony, he loves you so much, he`d be lost without you. Even Ol` Snivellus wouldn`t know what to do if he wasn`t constantly sticking his beak into your business."

"Hey!" Rosie chided.

"Sorry, no Snape jokes. I know."

Rosie took one last shaky breath and made a motion to stand up. Sirius held her arm. Instead of heading to her own bed, she found herself walking back down the hall towards Moony`s room again. Before she could move to leave, Sirius turned her around and looked her in the eyes.

"Hey, listen. You`ve got people ok? We`re not going anywhere." The man said seriously.

Rosie nodded in acknowledgement, shooting him a pained smile, and then he let her continue on her way. Curling back into bed beside Moony, Rose allowed herself to drift into a fitful sleep, her stomach still churning with nausea.

By the time morning came, Rosie`s head felt like it had been split in two. Her mouth was dry and her whole body ached. She hadn`t showered, and she was pretty sure that she still had dried semen stuck on her legs.

Moony wasn`t in the bed anymore so Rose guessed that it was after eight. On the nightstand, somebody had left a hangover cure potion and a big glass of water. She took it gratefully, but worried that Severus might have put it there.

He was going to kill her.

Drinking had not been on the list of things he had banned her from doing, but she assumed that it wasn`t because he hadn`t thought she would do something that stupid. Rosie hadn`t ever expressed interest in alcohol before last night. Really, she only did it because she knew that it was supposed to stop you from feeling.

It had actually made her feel worse. Stumbling slowly down the stairs in search of her guardian, it was with a sickening dread that Rosie scanned the kitchen and found every adult in her life sitting down together at the dining room table. Nobody was speaking. Moony was there, his face solemn.

Sirius sat next to him. Severus… Severus had his head in his hands. She had not seen him do that in a long time. Rosie was even more surprised to see Dumbledore sitting next to the potions master, a hand held out to the man as though he were trying to be a comfort.

Did she cause whatever this was? Cautiously, Rosie let herself into view, shrinking back from the collective stare as she moved.

"Is this like an intervention?" She asked softly, her hands coming up to rub at her temples.

Severus` head stayed in his hands. He did not look up. That terrified her more than anything else could have.

"Come have a seat honey." Moony directed her to the chair opposite him.

Sirius shot her a pained glance.

"You guys are really freaking me out." Rosie started anxiously. "If you`re gonna yell or be disappointed in me, or whatever… I`m all ears, just stop with the silence. Please."

At that, Severus lifted his head and turned to look at her, but it was not anger that she saw in his face, it was that horrible familiar expression. The same choking silence that he had had the morning that he and Dumbledore had talked to her in his office.

When he spoke, it was in the very same tone, awkward, as though he wasn`t sure how to explain himself. Rosie felt a sickening twinge of dejavu as Dumbledore reached a hand our and place it over hers.

"Rose." Severus began. "While you were conversing with Mr. Malfoy last night, was their anyone else in the room?"

Her brows furrowed. Why would he ask her that? "No." Rosie shook her head. "I don`t think so anyways.

"Ok." Was all that he replied.

"Guys. Please, what is going on. Whatever it is, you`re making it way worse." She fidgeted. Moony cleared his throat and began to fish something out of his robes. It was a copy of the prophet. He opened it to the first page, and set it down in front of her, his face twisted with concern. Rosie`s lips parted as she read the headline and all the air left her body.

" _Girl Who Lived Accuses Former Hogwarts Professor of Rape."_

 _Thirteen, nearly fourteen-year-old Rose Potter was overheard by an anonymous source at the Longbottom manor on Friday evening having a private discussion with young Mr. Draco Malfoy. Notoriously enemies, this reporter was surprised to discover that Miss Potter gave an account to the Malfoy heir, detailing a rape that had occurred on Hogwarts premises. In the discussion, Potter alleges that Gilderoy Lockhart, author and dark arts expert, raped her while he was a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At the time of the incident, Rose Potter would have been just twelve years of age. No charges have been laid to corroborate the account, but the mysterious resignation of Mr. Lockhart during the Christmas holidays of that particular school year help us to fill in the details._

 _The question remains, if this allegation is indeed true, why were no charges laid against the former professor? When approached for questioning, Mr. Lockhart refused to confirm the allegations stating that, "Rose Potter was always very attention seeking." However, the anonymous source stated that the girl was quite overcome with emotion during her account to Mr. Draco Malfoy. The public urges Miss Potter to come forward with her story. Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge is quoted saying, "If something happened in between Mr. Lockhart and Rose Potter the ministry wants to know. Potter can be assured that he will be tried to the full extent of wizarding law."_

 _-Rita Skeeter._

Rose was silent for a long time. Everybody was. Nobody so much as twitched in their seats. When she did speak, it was brief.

"Severus." She whispered.

His head snapped up and towards her. Rosie stood up and walked mechanically back towards the stairs and up towards her bedroom. She could feel the potions master`s presence behind her. Sitting down on the bed, Severus mimicked her, and gave her a serious appraisal.

"Child…" He began, but she interrupted him, cutting him off and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

The man tensed and then softened, patting her back as she buried her face in his neck. Rose did not cry.

"Thank you so much, Severus. Thank you for keeping this secret for me for so long. Thank you for helping me when I reached out to you. Thank you for being the only person in the whole damn world to take responsibility for me when I really needed you."

"Rose. You do not have to act. You can let this die."

"No. I want to. I`m ready. Things are getting out of hand, I can feel it."

"Are you sure? There is no turning back."

Rosie lifted her gaze to his. "I can`t live like this anymore." She choked. "Look at what I did to myself last night just because I ran into him."

He nodded, expression solemn.

"Just please don`t leave me." Rosie begged. Her heart rate rising.

"I will be here every step of the way." Severus confirmed.


	52. Chapter 52

**AN- Heyyy, sorry I made an error with my timeline a few chapters back. In canon Cedric wouldn`t be able to be head boy until the next year because he is just going into his sixth year, not seventh, but I do want him to get a chance to be head boy, so since this is fanfiction, let`s just say that head boy lasts for two years. Cool. Thanks for reading- Meg**

Remus Lupin was extremely worried. While initially, Rosie had taken the news of the prophet article with an eerie calmness, that pretense had faded. The girl was absolutely beside herself with anxiety. She hadn`t wanted to go with Albus to the ministry to make a formal complaint. Instead, Remus had gone in her place, acting for the first time legally as her guardian.

The headmaster had been required to surrender the memories that Snape had collected from Lockhart. The next day, a media frenzy ensued. Rosie began reading the paper obsessively. Sirius was charged with keeping her happy. He had been pulling out all the stops, pulling pranks, telling jokes, and generally acting like nothing was wrong. If Remus thought that Rosie was anxious, the girl had nothing on Severus Snape.

The werewolf had never seen the man so agitated. He had been brewing calming draughts for Rose and had been bringing them to her every day. Rosie had taken to waiting for her favorite death eater by the fire around the time she knew he would come. They always disappeared for a while into the bedroom. Usually, the girl came out wiping tears from her eyes.

Remus was pretty sure that it was Rose`s intention to cut all her friends out of her life. He assumed it was because she felt so ashamed. He was glad that it was summer. She would at least have some time to process before going back to school.

It was Ginny Weasley who contacted them first. Remus did not want to go behind his goddaughter`s back, but he had begun to worry that she would be worse off without support from anyone her own age. When the girl had arrived, she was completely calm.

Remus remembered Rosie asking whether Ginny had reacted to the dementors as she had and wondered if maybe the girl had her own trauma to work through. Not much later, he had gone upstairs to check and make sure that Rose was ok and found the two girls curled up next to each other, Rosie`s fist curled in Ginny`s sweatshirt. Remus couldn`t tell if they were sleeping or if the Weasley girl was just sitting as a silent support.

Either way, he was pleased. The worst had been Cedric Diggory. Rose did not know that he had come by because she had been asleep, and Remus would not let him in. The boy had shown up with his head hung and his face stricken four days after the first prophet announcement had been made. It had been Sirius who had answered the door.

Remus heard his friend`s voice rise in pitch as he questioned Cedric.

"What do you want?" He started.

Remus came to stand behind Sirius, placing a hand on the man`s shoulder.

"I was hoping to see Rose." Cedric tried lamely.

"Absolutely not." Sirius replied, crossing his arms. Remus turned to the boy.

"Listen, Mr. Diggory… now is not a good time. I appreciate that you might feel badly about what happened, but we cannot in good conscience risk you hurting Rosie with what you might say to her."

"I just want to apologize." He frowned. "I shouldn`t have treated her like that… I was just so confused and frustrated. I should never have left her."

Sirius growled. "No, you bloody well shouldn`t have. Do you have any idea how alarming it was to have the Malfoy kid floo her home balling her eyes out?"

"I know, I`m sorry, really. I just got so angry. I didn`t understand why she was drinking so much. Now I do…"

"Then you suck it up Diggory. You be angry, you sulk, you do whatever you bloody well want to do, but you be a man and get her the fuck home like you said you would. Anything could have happened to her." Sirius was still raging.

"Sirius." The werewolf started.

"He needs to hear it Moony."

Cedric lifted his eyes to meet Remus`. "It`s fine. He`s right. I was a huge prick. I still want to be with her though. I…I love her."

Padfoot scoffed. Remus eyed the boy. "Listen Cedric. Just let this die down a bit ok? Come back in a week if you still want to, but I must ask that if you do continue with Rosie, that you start to act your age. Understood? She is quite a bit younger than you still, and when she is with you, it is your responsibility to make sure that she is safe."

Cedric had agreed and gone from the premises when Sirius turned to him and snorted. "Like James my ass."

Rosie had just finished going over with Severus the structure of the impending trial. It turned out that when Severus had said that he would be there for her every step of the way, he had not been entirely correct. Perhaps it had slipped his mind, but he had returned to talk with her the morning before Moony had gone to file her complaint.

He explained that Dumbledore was worried, that if Severus was seen as being too personally involved in her wellbeing in such a public setting, it would damage his place in the death eater ranks in the event of Voldemort's return. Rosie hadn't quite understood what that meant at first. As it turns out, it meant that Severus could not attend the trial with her.

That unfortunate fact had almost made Rosie change her mind about the whole thing. Going without Severus was not something that she had intended to do. The potions master had made her cry. He'd promised that he would see her before and immediately afterwards every single day that it was necessary, but Rose had still been reluctant. In the end, she`d agreed, but it took a lot of convincing from her guardian.

Initially, Rosie had requested that Dumbledore take his place, but Severus had reminded her that because he himself was on the Wizengamot, it would be viewed as a conflict of interest. That left her with only one option, Moony. She had really hoped that there would never come a time when Moony would view any of Lockhart`s memories.

Rosie had not mentioned anything to him about it yet, she was scared to, scared that asking Moony meant that Severus would begin to disappear from her life. The trial wouldn't begin until just after her birthday, so she had time. Severus had gotten up to leave, when Rosie heard the doorbell ring from downstairs and then the unmistakable growl of Sirius` irritation.

"Not you again."

Severus glared at her. "I can only guess who that might be."

Rosie`s stomach churned. Remus called her from below. "Rosie you have a visitor!"

Coming face to face with Cedric for the first time since she had slept with Malfoy was hard. The boy looked as though he almost lost his nerve when Severus came down the stairs trailing behind her and appraised him.

"Mr. Diggory." He drawled.

"Uh. Hello Professor Snape sir. Hullo Rose." Cedric greeted them, fidgeting.

"Hi Cedric." Rosie eyed the boy nervously.

"I was hoping maybe I could speak with you… um, alone?" He asked then, glancing around at her three pseudo body guards. Before Rose could answer, Severus interjected. "I trust that there will be no need for supervision. Should I be proved incorrect… perhaps in the future I will not be so lenient." The potions master allowed.

"O…of course, Sir." Cedric stuttered.

Then, Severus did something very out of character. He gave Rosie a look, said,

"I shall be going then," and leaned in to give her a one-armed hug.

She wasn`t sure if the hug was passive aggressive, possessive, or both. Rose giggled in his ear as he leant down.

"Prat."

His actions did make her relax a little bit though.

When Rosie was finally left alone with Cedric, the boy just stared at her. He opened and closed his mouth several times, probably trying to find the words.

"Rose… Professor Lockhart?" He winced.

Rosie flinched and looked down.

"I am so sorry Rose…I had no idea. If I had known… Merlin, I`m so sorry I left you. Please forgive me. I can`t believe… he used memory charms on you?"

She nodded but did not speak.

"When you said that Professor Snape took care of you when you were sick in your second year, that was…this?"

Rosie didn`t want to do this, but she figured that she`d better get used to it if she was going to go through with this trial. "I started to notice that something was wrong, and I went to Severus. He was able to help me piece things together. I stayed with him over the holidays that year."

"I don't know what to say Rose…that is absolutely awful."

Rosie just shrugged. "I don`t really want to talk about it more than I already have to."

"Ok, erm, we don`t have to." The boy agreed. "I just… Rose I want you to know that I won't leave again, if you'll have me back."

"Of course, Ced… I shouldn`t have tried to stay that night. I should have left. Drinking like that, it only made things worse."

"No, Rose, I get why you did it. Merlin, I probably would`ve too. I just really didn`t want to have sex with you like that. I didn't want to take advantage of you."

Her stomach clenched. If only he knew.

Rosie couldn't resist the pretty boy pleading expression that he shot her, and she ended up allowing him to approach her, cradling her arms in his hands. Guilt curled around her intestines. Cedric pressed his forehead into hers.

"Ced, I don't know if you`re going to want to be around for this whole trial thing. So far it`s been pretty tame, but Severus is worried that it will turn ugly."

The boy caught her chin in his hand and turned her face towards him.

"Hey, I just said I wasn`t leaving again." He reassured.

Rosie wanted to look away. Cedric was no legilimens, but Malfoy`s face swirled around in her mind tauntingly. She knew that she should tell him… but he was smiling, and his hands felt so damn nice wrapped around her. Rose drank in his scent, sweet cologne and herbs. The pair stayed that way for a long time, intimately intertwined but totally clothed.

This is what Rosie wanted. She wanted to feel safe and loved. Malfoy had just been a mistake. It would never happen again.

Rose could do this. She could be in the relationship still and just forget that it ever happened. Cedric did not push her to have sex with him that day. Instead, they had laid down together on the bed and talked. He had held her, stroked her hair, and she had begun to feel like maybe things could still be normal in her life despite the trial.

Moony had been lingering around downstairs waiting for Cedric to leave. She knew that her guardian was still sore about what had happened, but Moony never went against what Rosie wanted. Sirius had just been quiet.

Rosie appreciated the effort that the man had been making since their last fight. He had been more fun, and he was hell bent on making her laugh as many times a day as he could manage. She wasn't sure where Sirius had gone off to, but when Rose came downstairs to show Cedric out, her guardian was waiting patiently on the sofa.

"Did things go alright Sweetie?" He asked her, his tone was apprehensive. Rosie moved to sit with him. "

Yeah. They did. I just… I know you're cross with him, but I shouldn't have done what I did either."

Moony sighed. "Oh honey." He took her hand in his. "You are free to make your own decisions as far as it concerns me. I just worry, you know that."

"I know Moony. Thank you." Her stomach filled with butterflies as Rosie realized that this would be a good time to talk to him, while they were alone. "Erm, Moony, can I ask you for something? Like a really big favor. You can say no, I won't be upset." She started nervously.

Moony's brows knitted together with worry. "Of course, you can love. You can ask me for anything."

"I know, but this is a bit different. I just…need your help." Much to Rose's chagrin, her eyes began to water, and her bottom lip quivered.

"Rosie, what's wrong sweetheart? What do you need? Did you forget the contraceptive charm again?"

"N…no, we didn't…" She started. "It's got to do with the trial."

The werewolf's eyes widened slightly.

"I'm listening." He soothed.

"Dumbledore says that Severus can't go with me." She hiccoughed, "He says it might be dangerous in the long run."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. Come here." Moony said, outstretching his arms to her. "I know how much Severus has been there for you through all of this. I'm sure he feels pretty rotten that he can't be there now."

"He does and he wants me to do it anyways, but I'm so scared. I don't want to go alone." She stared at him expectantly.

"Are you asking me to…?"

Rosie nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. "I never wanted you to see what happened to me." She started. "You don't have to go, it will be really horrible. You'll have to watch and listen to me say all the things he did." Rose was hiding her face now.

"Rose. I don't know what to say. I am honored that you feel safe enough to allow me to accompany you. Of course, I'll go."

"Are you sure Moony? You don't have to do anything else, just be there. Severus is still gonna go through all the things I have to say and help me practice. I still can't really talk about it."

"I'm sure Rosie. You know that I'd do anything for you."

She sighed in relief, her face still buried in his neck. "You're the best."

After their talk, Moony busied himself making dinner. He was a great cook. Rosie would've stayed to keep him company, but she had decided to speak with Sirius, hoping that he might be able to help her. She knocked on the door to his room and the man called for her to come in.

"Heya Rosie, is everything alright?" He asked, probably curious as to why she'd decided to visit him.

"Yeah everything is fine." She nodded.

"Did you make up with the Diggory kid?"

Rosie nodded again. "I actually… wanted to ask your advice."

Sirius' face flitted with surprise. "You did?"

She smirked a little. "Erm, yeah… I kind of thought you might have a bit more experience in this particular area."

"Alrighty, go ahead." He raised an eyebrow.

"Do I tell Cedric about what I did with Malfoy?" Rosie asked quickly.

"Hey! You think I have experience cheating on people?" Sirius complained.

"I mean… Moony is basically a saint so I can't ask him, and Severus, well I'm pretty sure he's still in love with my mother from when they were kids…"

"And what about me then?" He coughed.

"Tell me with a straight face that you've never done it." She dared him.

"Alright alright, fine. The first thing you need to do is make sure that Malfoy is not going to say anything, because if you think that he will talk, it will eventually get out anyways and you'll just hurt Diggory more."

"No, Malfoy wouldn't. He would be too embarrassed to admit it. Plus, he's been dating Pansy Parkinson for like a year now and she's a psycho, so he wouldn't dare."

"Wait, he's with someone too?"

"Yup." Rosie flushed.

Sirius shook his head and smirked. "No, don't tell him. I'm assuming you regret it and won't be doing it again?"

"Very much so." She cringed and looked away. "I just feel so guilty."

"Naw Rosie, you're young, you're allowed to make mistakes like that. It'll all be fine. Just try and forget about it." He reassured her.

"You must think I'm some horrible tart." Rosie sighed.

"Hey now, when did I ever say that?"

She just sighed again and shook her head. Sirius eyed her from where he sat on the bed. The man sat up a bit straighter and transformed into a dog, cocking his head to the side. Padfoot as she learned he was called, jumped forward and licked her face.

"Gross Siri." She whined.

The dog proceeded to tug her out of the room and down into the sitting room, picking up the toy that Moony had brought home for him, and nudging it toward Rosie. She giggled. He knew that she liked playing fetch with Padfoot.


	53. Chapter 53

Turning fourteen didn't feel like a very big deal to Rosie. In fact, she tried to avoid thinking about her age on a regular basis. Age was never a joyful topic of discussion when it was centered around her. Rose was tired of hearing phrases like, "He tried to kill a one year old," "You were only twelve," "He's three years older than you."

Now that she was fourteen, she knew that nothing would change. Cedric would be turning seventeen the week after her birthday, which meant that he remained three years older. The fact that she was now going to be fourteen didn't change the fact that she had been brutally violated when she was twelve, or that she was to go to trial the next week.

Voldemort trying to kill her as a baby remained a prominent issue as they all sat perched like sitting ducks waiting for the return. Age didn't change a thing, so Rosie was surprised when she awoke the morning of her birthday feeling so much joy.

Moony had woken her up at eight in the morning with such a wide grin that she thought he might hurt himself.

"Good morning Princess." He greeted her, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Morning Moony." Rosie reached out to give him a hug, her eyelids still heavy.

When Moony had successfully trapped her in his arms, he whispered, "I know that I`ve missed a lot of birthdays, but I want you to know that I'll be here for all the rest of them."

"Aw Moony, don't worry about it. I know you will." She sighed into him.

Sometimes Rosie fantasized about leaving her life behind to live a peacefully in solitude with Moony, drinking tea and eating porridge. It was then that Sirius entered the room, a cupcake in hand with a single candle resting on top.

"Happy Birthday Rosie!" They both chimed and Sirius leaned in to give her a hug as well.

That afternoon, Moony had done exactly what he had said he would and had invited Cedric, Severus, and Ginny over to have dinner. Rosie hadn't really wanted to do that, but Moony seemed pleased so she had decided not to say anything. However, Rose couldn't see a way in which the dinner wouldn't end badly.

The best-case scenario was that it would be awkward, and the worst case would be extreme humiliation and/or the need for serious damage control. Severus and Sirius in the same room was never a good idea, not to mention throwing Cedric into the mix.

Rosie didn't dress up for the dinner. She didn't think it warranted uncomfortable clothing. Instead, she left her hair long and put on a button-down plaid jumper with tights. Moony had made ham and potatoes with various other side dishes, and Sirius had planned something for dessert.

Cedric had been the first to arrive, greeting her with an enthusiastic kiss and placing a small box next to the wrapped presents that her guardian and Sirius had laid out. Next was Ginny, who gave her a long embrace and did the same. When Severus arrived, everybody looked up. Rosie moved forward to wrap the man in a tight hug, which he awkwardly returned.

"Thanks for coming Severus." She whispered.

"Naturally." He drawled, eyes scanning the room.

Rosie knew that this was uncomfortable for him. Severus hated socializing, especially with his childhood rivals and Rose's boyfriend.

"Hi Professor Snape!" Ginny called from the kitchen where she and Cedric stood.

"Miss Weasley." He nodded curtly. "Mr. Diggory…" Her guardian's tone lingering over Cedric's name.

If she'd thought that Moony was sore over the incident at the Longbottom Manor, Severus was still positively furious, but Rosie had pleaded with him to behave.

"Erm, Hello Professor Snape sir." The boy stuttered.

Moony, who was a godsend as usual, announced that dinner was ready and he and Sirius, who had not said a word since Severus arrived, had begun to set the table.

Rosie took the spot next to Severus and Cedric sat on the other side of her. She knew that nobody else wanted to sit next to the dour potion's professor, and Cedric was too nervous to sit with either Moony or Sirius. Ginny was happy to be anywhere, so she at across from them next to Moony.

The silence was palpable. The only sounds were the gentle clinks of forks and knives touching. Ginny was squirming anxiously. Rose knew that she didn't like the silence. Sirius cleared his throat.

"So, Rosie, did you hear that they're gonna have Veela as cheerleaders at the world cup this year? Sounds kind of dangerous to me."

Rosie's brows furrowed. Before Rosie could ask what that meant, Severus interjected.

"Of course, you would focus on that Black."

"What's a Veela?" She questioned.

Sirius glared at Severus and then coughed. "They are… extremely attractive women who turn into these nasty bird things."

"Oh, why are they dangerous?"

Moony laughed from his spot at the table. "Because they hypnotize men Rosie. Any man who is attracted to women in general becomes prey. Padfoot is saying that it might be dangerous because the stands are so high up, the men might try to jump."

Rosie's eyes widened.

"You would be familiar with Veela, Lupin. I believe they too are classified as dark creatures." Severus spoke from beside her.

"Severus!" Rose admonished, swatting his arm lightly.

Cedric shot her a look. He didn't know about Moony's condition. She just shook her head.

"It's actually pretty hilarious to watch Rosie. The guys, they get these glazed expressions over their faces…" Ginny giggled. "I for one am bringing a blindfold for Dean!"

"Oh! You're going with Dean?" Rose squealed.

"Yes! Well, my family`s going too, but he invited me to sit with him."

She grinned broadly and then turned to Cedric.

"Now, don't forget to pack your blindfold Ced. I am not going to stop you if you try to jump out of your seat to go ogling after another woman." Rosie teased lightly.

The boy blushed.

Sirius coughed again, his body shaking with silent laughter. Moony's eyes were alight with mirth. Cedric must have decided in that moment to try and relax because he smiled and turned to Moony.

"What was it that you were saying the other day about Professor Snape being right about me? Who was it that I remind you of?"

Rosie tensed and her hands gripped the table. Severus turned to stare at her questioningly, and her face reddened.

"Ced. You did not just ask that right now." She gasped, embarrassed.

Moony was now positively quaking in amusement. He wiped a tear from his eyes and turned to Severus.

"Mr. Diggory is referring to dear Rosie's Oedipus Complex."

Cedric spat out his pumpkin juice. "I'm sorry?"

Severus looked as though he was fighting his own laughter, not wanting to be caught enjoying himself in the presence of marauders.

Ginny interrupted the discussion. "What is an Oedipus complex?"

Rosie glowered at her friend. "Gin! Seriously?"

Severus cleared his throat. "An Oedipus Complex Miss Weasley is a psychodynamic theory in human psychology, which states that young girls are unconsciously attracted to their fathers and are subsequently jealous of their mothers. However, nowadays, it has become more commonly known as an attraction to men similar to one's father." He explained, converting momentarily into Professor Snape.

Rosie groaned, dropping her head so that it hit against the table with a resounding thud. Cedric made a soft little noise of discomfort. "Erm. You think I'm like Mr. Potter, Professor Snape sir?"

"Astoundingly." He replied at the same time that Sirius interjected, "He's not that much like James."

Rose rubbed her temples. "Considering I have never held a single conversation with James Potter I don't see how I would have chosen to date Cedric for those reasons."

"That's why it's unconscious my love." Moony winked.

"Oh my god, enough. Please. You are all awful. It's my birthday!"

Sirius, who also seemed to find the topic displeasing, scratched his head and then turned to Rosie.

"You know, on this day, fourteen years ago, your mother was so angry. She'd gone into labor, but it was taking forever, and St. Mungos refused to admit her until she was closer to delivering. She was in so much pain all day, and James tried everything, but the only thing that made her smile was talking about you."

That made Rosie smile too. "Did they know I would be a girl?"

"No." Moony replied. "Lily wanted a boy. She had the nursery decked out in blue for months. Harry James Potter, I still remember how sure she was. Your dad though, he wanted a girl with red hair like your mom`s."

"Aw shit, well I guess I was a big disappointment then for everyone." She chuckled.

"No, because the moment that they saw you they were in love. James suggested they call you Harriet." Moony continued.

"I vetoed that one. I said that you`d never find a boyfriend with a name like Harriet. That made James even more keen, but Lily wouldn`t have it." Sirius chimed in.

"Harriet? That is horrendous." She cringed. "Why did they choose Rose?"

Sirius glanced at Moony, who shot him back a look of confusion.

"You know, we never asked." The werewolf replied. "I kind of figured that it was just a tradition, flower names for girls." Sirius offered.

Just then, much to everyone`s surprise, Severus spoke.

"Rose, was your grandmother`s name."

Her eyes widened and she smiled. Rosie wanted to ask the man more questions about her grandparents, but she knew that he would not want to answer them in front of everyone. She resolved to wait until later.

Ginny, who was not aware of the obvious tension that would ensue asked another question.

"What was Mrs.… um, Lily Potter like? Was she like Rose?"

Rosie cringed as she felt Severus tense beside her. Moony smiled gently and responded,

"She was very much like Rose. Uncommonly kind. She was maybe a bit softer around the edges than our Rosie, but definitely quite similar."

Trying to make Severus laugh, Rosie nudged him and said, "I think that`s Moony trying to say politely that she was much nicer than me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Indeed… you are known to partake in certain activities that might constitute you as… How did Lupin put it? Rough around the edges."

Cedric shifted uncomfortably to her right. By this time, everyone had finished eating dinner, and Rosie began to clear away the plates. That was Sirius' cue. He disappeared into the other room and came out holding a large pink cake with fourteen candles shimmering brightly in the dim light.

A huge grin was plastered on his face. The cake read,

 _Happy Birthday Rosie_

"Aw Siri, did you go out and buy this? You shouldn't have." She gushed, pulling the man into a brief but affectionate hug as soon as he placed the cake on the table. He returned the hug and beamed down at her.

"Make a wish Rose."

Rosie closed her eyes, trying to think of something to wish for. It came to her with sickening clarity in that moment. The only thing that she wished for was for the trial to go well, and for Lockhart to be punished for hurting her. That is what she thought of as she blew out the candles.

Rose didn't think that birthday wishes were supposed to be that morbid.

After cake, it was time for presents. Ginny came forward first, holding out a party bag stuffed with tissue paper. Rosie opened it to find a little golden snitch tucked inside of a small black box.

"It`s for practice." She smiled.

Rosie giggled with excitement as she took the snitch out of its box and it sprang to life. Tossing it up in the air, the delicate wings beat rapidly, and it tried to fly away. She reached up and caught the little ball deftly in her right hand. Sirius was staring at her, his eyes wide and his expression, almost… longing. It was the same expression that he`d had when she'd first met him in the shrieking shack.

"Your dad used to play with one of those." He whispered softly.

Now Rosie understood. This was Sirius` dead parents face. She knew Moony's and Severus', but she'd never paid much attention to Siri's. It was the face that he made when he forgot that she was Rosie and not James. They all did it.

"Thanks Ginny, this is brilliant." She beamed, trying to ignore Sirius, and leaned into to hug her friend.

Cedric put his hand on her back and blushed as she turned to look at him holding out a thin velvet box. Inside was a pretty silver charm bracelet. It had only two charms on it, a little ruby encrusted lion, and a yellow topaz jeweled badger. It was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

"Oh Cedric. This is so lovely." She gasped allowing him to clasp it onto her wrist.

Once again, the familiar sensation of guilt began to creep through her body, trailing up her spine and making her shudder. He was so bloody nice, and she was terrible. Rosie tried to squash the bad feeling down and swept him up into a not-so-appropriate kiss, allowing her hands to come down, curling around his torso.

Severus cleared his throat and Cedric pulled back.

"Me next Rose!" Siri called from the other side of the room. She hadn't even realized that he'd gone and come back.

In his hands was a long, thin package. The shape was unmistakable.

"You didn't." She started, her face frozen in shock. The man grinned at her. Opening the package quickly, Rosie realized that he had in fact done it.

He had bought her the firebolt. It was the newest and fastest broom invented. It had come out around the time that he'd escaped Azkaban. Rose squealed with excitement and threw herself at him. The ex-con picked her up and twirled her around.

"Thank you, Siri." She sighed genuinely.

"Anything for you Little Prongs." He replied. Rosie noted the new nickname in her mind.

He`d never called her that before. When she turned around again, Severus was glaring as usual. Rosie winked at him. His glare deepened. Cedric was watching them with his eyebrow raised.

Moony shuffled towards her, glancing sideways towards the firebolt, and then holding out a package for her to take. She assumed this was his gift to her. Rosie smiled and took the gift from her guardian, but when she tore the wrapping paper away, she was left speechless. Her eyes stung with emotion and her breath caught. Moony had given her a photo album full to the brim with picture of her parents.

He must have been collecting them for months. Opening the album to the first page, Rosie let out a pained little cry as she came face to face with her eleven-year-old mother, smiling brightly next to another Gryffindor girl. Below that photo was one of her father and Sirius around the same age.

The album seemed to move in chronological order as her parents aged. There was even a picture of a tiny little Severus, smiling of all things, next to her mom. They looked to be around thirteen.

"Oh Moony." Rosie breathed, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

She quickly wiped it away and held the book to her chest. Rosie suddenly felt very vulnerable. Fighting tears, she spun around looking for a way out, to get away from all of the eyes watching her grieve.

Moony's face flashed with alarm. "Honey, I`m sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"N…no, it's wonderful Moony, I just, erm, I think I will look later if it's alright with you." Rosie stuttered, trying to mask the emotion.

Sirius grimaced and set an arm around her heavily.

"Now, let's see what Ol'Snapey there got you Rose." He said, changing the subject and picking up the neat black box that remained on the table.

Severus was staring at her pointedly. It would be unnoticeable to anyone else, but she knew this his face was etched in concern for her. Rose flashed him a small smile, trying to communicate her stability. Touching her locket softly, she moved to pry the box open. Much to Rosie's surprise, out popped a red teddy bear. It had the Gryffindor emblem sewn on the chest.

She was puzzled at first but knew that Severus would not give her a teddy bear for no reason. Turning the bear over gently in her hands, Rose noticed a flower embroidered on the bottom of the right foot… it was a lily. Going on instinct, she took the plush foot in her hand and gave it a squeeze.

" _Rose Potter. She's the most amazing gift I've ever been given."_ Lily Potter's voice chimed.

Rosie clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle the whimper that left her lips. The bear fell to the floor and she moved away. Turning around and scuttling into the next room, the tears beginning to flow liberally. It wasn't that Rose didn't love and appreciate the gifts, and the time it must have taken to create them, she just, wasn't in the right state of mind at that moment to handle the grief that would inevitably follow.

Expecting Severus or Moony, she was surprised to find that it had been Cedric who`d decided to come after her.

"Rose. Come here." He motioned, pulling her into his arms. She pressed her face into his chest, tears wetting the boy's shirt.

"I understand Rose. I do. I grew up with the same thing after my mother... Everyone wants to give you things that remind you of your parents… they want you to feel the same way that they did about them, but it's hard. Especially when you never knew them." Cedric explained.

"I just… I love the gifts, they are so special, and I'll treasure them forever, but right now with the trial getting closer and… my birthday was never really a very nice day for me, I don't think I was prepared."

"When my mother died, I was only four years old, and my dad, he didn't talk about her for a long time. When he finally did start to tell me about her and show me pictures, it was so overwhelming that I almost didn't want to see."

"I never realize how much I missed them until I knew more about them." Rosie admitted weakly. "My relatives never… well they never did anything. I'd never even seen pictures before Hogwarts. I guess I'm just learning more and more of what I missed out on."

"I know Rose, but the thing is, as weird as it feels, the people that knew our parents only do it out of love." He tried to reassure her. "Listen, Professor Snape looked like he was about to hit something when you left, and Professor Lupin was just staring at the floor. You should go back in there."

"What do I say to them?" She whispered.

"You'll just have to fake it. Put your Gryffindor bravery to good use, put on a smile, and go and give out some of your heart stopping hugs. Got it? Explain that you were just overcome, but that you love the gifts."

Rosie sighed and shot Cedric a watery smile, letting him wipe the tears from her cheeks and kiss her forehead softly. That was exactly what she would do.


	54. Chapter 54

The morning of the trial, day one, was probably the second most disturbing morning of Rosie's life, only overshadowed by the morning that she viewed Lockhart's memories for the first time. Moony had come into her room at six in the morning to tell her that it was time to start getting ready.

Rosie didn't realize the preparation that she was expected to go through. Severus arrived shortly after and took over. He opened her closet and looked through her clothes, muttering softly to himself.

"Severus? What are you doing?"

"Choosing your outfit."

Rosie was confused, until her guardian pulled out a conservative floral blue dress and a pair of flat shoes. The dress was from a couple of years ago, and he had to modify it so that it would be long enough to fit. "Why do I have to wear that?" She questioned.

"You need to look as young as possible." He responded firmly. What Severus did next made Rose flush with embarrassment. "Put this on." The man commanded, holding out a sports bra that was slightly too small for her. It was obvious that the intention was to make her breasts appear lesser. Rosie cringed. She did what the man said and quickly began to change as Severus practiced asking and answering questions with her.

Much to Rosie's chagrin, Sirius had walked into the room whilst she was still in her knickers. His face had changed from calm to horrified in a second.

"Remus! Snape is in here with Rose while she's changing!" He called down the stairs, his voice tense.

Severus snarled, but Moony yelled back. "Sirius come help me with breakfast!"

"But Moony…" He countered.

Rosie was irritated now. "Yes Sirius. Severus waited till the day of my rape trial to accost me in my bedroom. That is exactly what this is." She growled

"Rosie… it's inappropriate." He whined. She tugged the dress over her head and sighed loudly. "No. What's inappropriate is that my defense professor had sex with me when I was twelve. Now, stop being like that and come do my hair." She demanded. Severus chose to ignore Rosie's vulgar commentary and moved onto the next question. She allowed Sirius to charm her hair into twin braids as the potions master spoke.

"And how did you come to meet Mr. Lockhart?" Severus drawled.

"He was my professor in my second year at Hogwarts." Rosie responded promptly.

"Good. Now should you be asked any personal questions about your previous sexual history; how should you respond?"

"That I had none."

"And should they inquire into your current sexual activity?"

"I should tell them that it is confidential and that I maintain the right to discretion where it does not pertain directly to the trial."

"Excellent."

Sirius interjected. "Why would they ask that?"

Severus sneered at him. "It is a tactic commonly used in this particular type of trial to attempt to discredit the victim."

"That isn't fair! What Rosie does now shouldn`t matter." Sirius moaned.

"Touching…Black. However, seeing as though you are not on the Wizengamot, your opinion on the subject is not relevant."

Severus continued to ask questions until Sirius had finished doing her hair and had gone downstairs to help with breakfast. When her guardian was sure that his enemy had left, he came to stand in front of where Rosie sat on the bed and knelt down.

"Rose Lily Potter. You will be absolutely fine today. It is of no matter that I will not be in attendance because I am not the one who suffered as you did. Only you can tell the story, and only you are allowed an opinion on it. Do you understand?"

"Sir?"

"If there is ever a time today that you feel incapable of continuing, or unable to answer a question, you stop. You have every right to be respected and to not allow questions that you do not feel comfortable answering."

"What if they make me?" She whispered.

"Nobody can make you do anything child. You are not the criminal. Remember that. If you are afraid, I have spoken with Lupin, all you must do is ask and he will escort you from the premises. In the end, your wellness is my only concern."

"Will you be waiting for me… afterwards?"

"Indeed. Your wolf will be flooing you to my residence directly from the ministry."

"I'm scared Severus." Rosie's voice was shaky. "I haven't even left the house since the first article… I don't want to face everyone."

"You have nothing to fear. You are completely innocent. Those who would view you differently for this would not last a moment in your shoes."

Rosie shut her eyes and nodded, drawing strength from the potions master, who was at least acting, entirely calm. Severus left after that, and Rose forced a bit of breakfast down her throat, but she was too nervous to really eat. When it was time to go, Moony gave her a meaningful stare and motioned towards the fireplace. Sirius helped her up and then wrapped her in a bear hug, whispering in her ear, "Kill it Rosie. Give the bastard what he deserves." With one last deep breath and a gentle shoulder squeeze from Moony, the pair stepped into the fire, and Rosie stepped into battle.

From the moment that they landed in the ministry atrium, Rose clung onto Moony like a leech. There were people waiting for her, reporters, and her guardian wrapped his cloak around her small frame as they moved dangerously forward, cameras and microphone ready and waiting. Rosie whimpered. "Relax my love, we're almost through." Moony soothed, his hand on her back. A woman walked out of one of the round offices to meet them, eying Rose curiously and sticking out her hand to shake.

"Hello Rose. My name is Amelia Bones. I'm the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement here at the Ministry. I will be walking you through our procedure for today's trial." The woman began. Rosie shook her hand tentatively, and then Moony, standing up straight, stuck out his hand to shake with Mrs. Bones.

"Remus Lupin. I am Rose's guardian." He introduced. The man was still curled around her protectively.

Amelia Bones brought them into the empty court room and showed Rosie where she would sit, where she would get up and walk to, and explained the order in which the events would take place. That day was solely reserved for evidence, examination, and cross examination.

The following day would be the revealing of the verdict. When it came time for them to exit the room so that the members of the Wizengamot could enter, Rosie was practically hidden beneath Moony's cloak, pressed into his side and on the verge of panic. They were escorted into an empty waiting room and the werewolf brought her into view.

"Rose." Moony tried as she began to tremble. The desks and chair in the waiting room shook. She ignored him. The pressure in her chest was building, but Moony was not having it. He moved to stand in front of her, taking her chin in his hand and turning her head to meet him.

"Rosie Potter, you are here for a reason. Get in there, get through it, and get it done. I have never known you to run away in fear. My girl who defied Voldemort as a baby, again at eleven years old, lunged forward and pushed a mass murderer to the ground, and looked a fully transformed werewolf in the eyes. You are my brave; strong Gryffindor goddaughter and we are all here for you."

Moony helped her to take some breaths, and before Rosie had time to have a fully-fledged outburst, Mrs. Bones came back into the waiting room.

"We are ready to begin Mr. Lupin." The woman said softly, eying Rose.

Taking one last deep breath, she clutched onto her guardian's arm, held her head up high, and marched forward. The room was, less full than Rosie was expecting. Perhaps Severus had exaggerated the amount of people in attendance.

Almost everyone was a man. Her eyes found Dumbledore easily and he smiled at her, but his face was somber. Moony lead her over to the seats which they would occupy until it was time for Rosie to take the stand. The trial began with introductions. The members of the Wizengamot stood individually to be named, and then Rosie had to stand when her name was called in representation of the prosecution.

Even though she knew that Lockhart would be present at the trial, Rose was not prepared for the full effect that it would have on her to see the man, her ex-professor, marched into the room in chains. Her breath hitched and her grip on Moony's arm tightened.

The werewolf leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of her head briefly in support, but his amber eyes were trained on Lockhart.

Next, the man who seemed to be in control of the narration of the trial announced that the charges were to be read.

"Gilderoy Lockhart. You are hear today to receive judgement based on the following accusations. You will be tried for multiple counts of statutory rape and molestation in the first degree, the intent to commit lewd acts with a minor, the improper and unlawful use of memory charms, the improper and unlawful use of magic to manipulate a minor, and the breech of your Hogwarts teaching contract."

Lockhart was looking down at the floor. Rosie sucked in another deep breath. "I would like to call forward the alleged victim, Miss Rose Lily Potter, daughter of Lily and James Potter to testify on her own behalf."

At the sound of her name, Rose felt Moony nudge her to stand. He allowed her to lean on him as she did so, but once she was standing, she was all alone. Walking bravely forward, Rosie bypassed Lockhart, and moved to sit at the bench in front of the crowded room.

"Good morning Miss Potter." The questioner greeted tonelessly.

"Good morning Sir." She replied, trying to pull strength from her body and project it into her voice.

"Are the aforementioned charges consistent with your supposed encounters with Mr. Lockhart?"

"Yes sir."

The room was completely silent. Rosie looked forward, trapping Moony's gaze. He nodded at her encouragingly.

"Please tell this court at what age and in what context you became acquainted with Mr. Lockhart."

"I met him when I was twelve years old, in my second year at Hogwarts in detention, and he was my defense professor."

"Thank you. Now, please explain the reasoning as to why you received such an excessive amount of detention with Mr. Lockhart in particular."

"My friend Ron and I flew a muggle car to Hogwarts that year instead of taking the train. I was given a long detention sentence for that with Professor Lockhart. The sentence was then lengthened when I was discovered at the scene of a suspicious incident at school."

"Who assigned you the detentions?"

"Professor McGonagall and then Professor Snape."

"That is Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape, Correct?"

"Yes."

"Miss Potter, can you describe how your detentions differed from regular detentions?"

"I'm sorry?" Rosie asked, confused. Regular detentions did not include a weekly dose of rape.

"I apologize, I mean, how did you become suspicious of Mr. Lockhart?"

"To be honest sir, I didn't suspect anything. The detentions were strange, I didn't remember much from them, and they always felt very short, but I did not connect them with the physical symptoms I was experiencing."

"What symptoms were those?"

Rosie cringed and sighed. Moony made eye contact with her and smiled sympathetically. "Exhaustion. I was having unusual pain and discharge. There were unexplained bruises all over my body."

"Alright. To whom did you disclose your symptoms?"

"Professor Severus Snape."

"What did Professor Snape do?"

"He used legilimency to discover that my memories of detention with Professor Lockhart were false, and then he disclosed the information to Professor Dumbledore. I believe, after that, the memories were collected from Lockhart."

"Thank you, Miss Potter. That concludes our series of questions. Now, if you would be so inclined to answer the questions set out by the defendant, we can move on."

Rosie nodded slowly. This was the part that Severus had warned her about. She didn't understand why they might ask her unkind questions when Lockhart's memories clearly spoke for themselves. Why couldn't they just pull out a vial of veritaserum and be done with it?

"Good morning Rose." An older man greeted her. He was short, probably about a head shorter than Sirius who wasn't very tall, and he was balding. Rose groaned internally. Of course, it would be this ugly old man asking her the worst questions. He had already skipped past formalities and called her by her first name.

"Good morning." Rosie replied. As soon as she spoke this time, Lockhart looked up from the floor and stared her down.

Her heart stopped, just for a moment, and she forgot to breath.

"Rose. Did you hear me?" The man prodded. His expression was expectant. Truthfully, Rosie hadn't even heard him speak.

"I'm sorry Sir, can you repeat the question?" She tried politely.

"I inquired about your level of knowledge on the topic of sexual activity prior to your supposed viewing of my client's memories."

"I had absolutely no idea what sex was or how it was done." Rosie stated firmly.

"Is that so?" The man hummed. "So, no sexual partners prior to age twelve?"

"No." She cringed, was he asking her if she'd been molested before? Rose didn't know anyone who started having sex before age twelve.

"How about now?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Do you have any sexual partners now?"

"I'm sorry sir, I do not believe that I am obligated to disclose personal information that doesn't pertain to the matter at hand. Is that correct?" Rosie turned to the trial narrator again.

The other man appraised her carefully and then turned to Lockhart's representative. "Miss Potter is indeed correct, is there a reason for this line of questioning?"

"The question is pertinent in the context of the severity of trauma suffered at the hands of my client."

"I will allow it, but please do be sensitive to the nature of the question when addressing the alleged victim."

Rosie raised her eyebrow. She was expected to answer the question now? Moony must have noted the confusion in her expression, because he quickly nodded his head and motioned towards Lockhart's representative.

"The answer is yes." Rose said evenly. So far, she thought she was doing alright.

"Yes, you have had sexual partners since the alleged trauma occurred?" The balding man questioned her.

"Partner, singular." She replied.

"Indeed." He breathed. "A boyfriend?"

"Yes." This was getting irritating now.

"Excellent. How nice that you've been able to look past a traumatic incident and engage in a normal teenage relationship." The representative smiled patronizingly at her.

"Is that a question Sir?" Rosie asked, trying to channel Severus.

"Should it be?"

"I don't seem to recall being asked if I had any trouble engaging in said relationship." She countered.

"Did you have a hard time with it Rose dear?"

"Yes, in fact, it has been extremely difficult to navigate a relationship in the aftermath of what was done to me." Moony was trying to get her attention. He frowned and trailed his finger from his eye to the base of his cheek. Was he telling her to cry?

"I bet it was my dear, but the important thing is, is that you got through it, and that you are alright. Is it not?" The ugly man smiled again.

Rosie took a deep breath and pinched herself underneath the table as hard as she could. She could physically feel her face twist in pain. Holding the pressure firm and cutting into her skin with her nail, Rose allowed her eyes to sting and water, cheeks flushing.

"Alright?!" She pretended to choke, allowing a tear to fall and quickly wiping it away.

"I lost complete control of my magic because of him. I can't feel, or express emotions properly without exploding in magical residue." Rosie continued.

She channeled the panic that she had felt before coming into the room and allowed it to take over momentarily. Her body tensed visibly and a glass of water on the desk in front of the narrator shattered. This seemed to be working perfectly. Several of the men startled and frowned at her sympathetically.

"I'm so sorry sir!" Rosie whimpered. "I just can't help it!" She brought her hands up to cover her face.

Rose was definitely going to hell. It wasn't like she didn't really feel this way, she just hadn't quite needed to express herself quite so boldly as she was doing in that moment.

The man, Lockhart's representative seemed slightly shell shocked by her display. "No further questions." He said stoically, shaking his head. Lockhart's eyes widened. Was that fear behind his expression?

The narrator, who now seemed quite out of sorts, turned back to Rose. "Miss Potter, I am so terribly sorry to force you to relive that incidence in question, but I must ask if you prefer the memory evidence to be view individually by each member of the Wizengamot, or together here in this room?"

This was the part that Rosie was most nervous for. "It's alright Sir. We can watch in here." She hiccoughed.

"Very well then my dear. Why don't you return and have a seat with your guardian?" He suggested, rising to help her down from the bench.

She took the man's hand innocently and allowed him to guide her towards Moony. Her guardian took her into his arms fiercely and murmured into her ear,

"Sweetheart that was brilliant." Rosie composed herself and winked at him, taking her original seat, and leaning her head against his shoulder.

She refused to watch his face. The pensive was brought out and some sort of magical projection device was attached to it. By this time, she was trembling. Moony rubbed her arm absentmindedly, but his attention was on the activities taking place.

The first memory began as Rosie remembered. She heard the echo of her voice saying,

"Hi Professor Lockhart sir!" Before the memory had finished, she had her head buried in her guardian's shoulder. Rose did not need or want to see this again, she'd already seen it one thousand times over in her mind. The sounds were torment enough. It began with curious fear and turned quickly into screams. Her screams of pain. Moony was still as a stone beside her, but she was still hiding her face. A mixture of crying, choking, shrieking, and disturbing silence filled the room with every memory that passed.

They had to be almost finished by now, she couldn't take this anymore. Rosie thought that she actually might prefer to be raped again than to continue with this twisted cinema experience. She regretted instantly allowing Moony to come along, forgetting over time just how horrific this would be to watch. Now he would really never look at her the same again. He wasn't hard and cold like Severus was, he was never a death eater.

Severus had seen this stuff before, Moony would probably be scared off. After what felt like an entire lifetime, the memories ceased. Rosie, who was still hiding her face, waited for someone, anyone to speak. When the narrator did speak, she dared to lift her eyes, not wanting to miss a word.

Every single pair of eyes in the room was on her, except for Dumbledore, who was staring at Lockhart, eyes devoid of twinkle. Rose avoided looking up at Moony beside her, favoring instead the front of the room.

"I think that that is all the evidence that shall be required for today. The session will be adjourned and will resume for the verdict tomorrow at the same hour." The man hit a gavel against the bench and the members of the Wizengamot began to file out.

Lockhart was levitated off the chair and moved, hands still bound toward the door. He was looking down once again. Moony hissed angrily from beside her.

"The bastard has an erection." It didn't sound like he was talking to her.

Sure enough, when Rosie looked again, she caught sight of the slight tenting of the man's pants. Her stomach curled. That man had been inside of her. Breathing long and low, she allowed a silent and stiff Moony to guide her back through the throngs of people in waiting.

Her guardian wouldn't make eye contact with her, he kept his head facing the other direction and he hadn't said much at all since the last memory had faded from view. She felt completely rejected. When they reached the fireplace, he only spoke the name of Severus' flat, his hand gripping her shoulder, and his silence gripping her heart.

Severus was waiting by the fire when they came through. He stood as they entered. Rosie shot him a pitiful look, and Moony excused himself quietly. The werewolf didn't even look at her as he left.

Severus opened his mouth to speak, but Rose beat him to it.

"Moony doesn't love me anymore." She cried, falling into him. "He doesn't want me, he thinks it's disgusting." Her first guardian just held her, his strong arms her safety net.

His scent familiar and comforting. This man, he was her dad, even if the idea would make him cringe, even if he would deny it on his death bed. Severus Snape was the closest that Rosie was ever going to get to a father, and he was a damn good one.

He always knew what she needed even before she did. Severus led her out of his house without a word, but his silence was reassuring. She knew that he would always love her, and he knew everything there was to know, every broken piece of her and every scar.

They walked for a few minutes, past a children's playground, down a long winding path, until they reached a small but sweet little house next to a creek. It was old, and the paint was peeling. The bushes were overgrown, and the grass unattended. Severus put his hand on her shoulder and spoke with an ease that she envied.

"This is your mother's house."

Rosie looked up at him with wide eyes. Yes, he knew exactly what she needed.


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N- Teeny tiny chapter here. More to come tonight.**

Remus stumbled into the sitting room of his flat to find Sirius waiting anxiously by the fire. The man looked up expectantly and Remus' face crumbled. The werewolf sank to his knees, breathing heavily and fighting the urge to wretch. "Remus mate, is Rosie alright?" Sirius' asked, his voice rising in pitch.

The man nodded. "She's with Snape"

"What happened Moony?" He had knelt down on the floor with his friend and grasped onto the man's shoulders as Remus' body fought to stay upright.

"Rosie did so good. She was brilliant, so brave. She even bloody cried on command. The defense representative was speechless."

"That's great Moon, but what's wrong?" Sirius pressed, concern threading through his words.

"It was… the memories. God Sirius, I thought I could… I thought I would be alright… I thought I had already pictured it enough in my mind, but I wasn't prepared." His breathing shortened into soft gasps.

"Aw shit man, it was that bad eh?"

"Worse. Padfoot, her screams. I…I've never heard anyone make those sounds before. He just… he forced her, and she had no idea what was going on." Remus allowed the tears to flow. "She was just a baby."

"Fuck." Sirius cursed, dropping his head into his hands. "That's so fucked up. I don't even want to think…"

"He got a fucking hard on watching it Padfoot. In front of everyone, in front of Rose. It was sick." Remus spat.

"Oh god." The man made a face.

"I'm surprised she hasn't slept through half the bloody school trying to forget that." The werewolf continued.

"I'm so sorry mate, I have no clue what to say. I've never… dealt with this kind of thing before."

"I think I screwed up Padfoot, like really buggered this." The man confessed. "I didn't say a word to her after… I couldn't even look her in the god damn eyes. I just kept seeing…"

Sirius sighed and pulled the man into an embrace. "It'll be ok man. Just let her have her time with Snivellus and she'll come back feeling better."

"I just…I should have pretended. We've never had any trouble Rosie and me, she just became mine so easily when she saw me… I don't know how to make this better."

"Well my dearest Moony, you are looking at public enemy number one as it concerns Rosie, so I don't think my advice really means much. You'll get through it, she adores you."

It was not until later, when the two men had made their peace with the day and began to resume normal activities, that Severus stepped through the fire, eyes blazing. He immediately turned his glare onto the wolf who cringed. Black stood up to defend his pet, moving in front of the feeble man.

"What. Were. You. Thinking?" Severus began threateningly. "The moment that you left my property, the child became inconsolable. She is now under the impression that you have ceased loving her." He spat.

The wolf's jaw dropped, and he let out a grunt of misery. "Back off Snivelly. Not everyone is as fucking heartless as you."

"Severus, please give my apologies to Rosie. I was so overcome…"

"Indeed. This all must be extremely… difficult for you Lupin." He drawled sarcastically. "You will be pleased to note that the child is coping much better than yourself… in fact, she has already replaced you. Black. Rose has requested your presence tomorrow during the sentencing hearing as opposed to Lupin." Severus relayed to the ex-convict. The man's eyes widened, and the wolf rubbed his face with his hands. Lupin deserved it. It did not take a genius to realize that the child would fear rejection after her guardian witnessed such private memories.

"Just, tell Rosie I'm sorry and that I love her. Please Severus."

"I am not going to do the groveling for you. You will soon be reunited. Do it yourself."


	56. Chapter 56

Rosie had stayed at Severus' the night after the trial. She could not bear to face Moony, not after what he'd seen of her. Rose didn't think that she was asking too much to expect him to have said… something, anything. The silence, that crushing tension between them had never existed before.

There had never been a time that being with Moony was hard, but yesterday, after he'd seen it all, that was unbearable. Severus had done his best to try and convince her that the werewolf was just weak, and that he was not used to being confronted by such strong images, but Rosie already knew that. Not that Moony was weak, he was far from it. No, she had known that he would be more sensitive to the memories and she had brought him anyways.

The problem was that she didn't know how to move forward from here. If there was ever a look worse than the infamous 'dead parents look,' it was the 'poor little victim look.' Rosie was sure that her guardian would forever adorn said expression from there on out. All she ever wanted was to be treated normally, like any other teenage girl.

The morning of day two, Severus had a hard time getting her out of bed. He had to physically levitate her off it and set out her clothing before she would even consider getting dressed. Rosie felt bad excluding Moony that day, especially in favor of Sirius, but there was no way that she was going to repeat the same events as the previous day. Her ex-godfather arrived at Severus' house awkwardly, and bypassed the potions master, moving straight towards her.

"Rose." He breathed. "Are you ready to go?" Sirius draped his arm around her.

She shot him a small smile.

"Just wait one second." Rosie said and she skipped forward, moving his arm off her, and throwing herself at Severus.

"Everything that happens today is because of you Sir." She whispered, loud enough for Sirius to hear too.

The dour man was tense, as he usually was in the presence of Sirius, but he did rest his hand in between her shoulder blades and nod in acknowledgement of what she had said.

"Alright, now I'm ready." Rosie turned towards Sirius again.

"Sure thing, Little Prongs." He grinned and hooked his arm through hers.

They arrived at the ministry to the same hoard of reporters and newscasters as the previous day, but Sirius, who never wore a cloak, could not cover her. Instead, he winked, and smiled at the cameras, dragging her along, their arms still interlocked.

"Please make way. Coming through. Scuse us. Thank you. Leave her be, today is hard enough as it is. Move along. No pictures please." Sirius carried himself with a confidence that rivaled Severus', but in a completely opposite manner.

Actually, Rosie supposed it was the kind of confidence that most pureblood raised and educated wizards possessed. It was more of a charisma mixed with just the slightest air of entitlement. She wondered if this is what James Potter had been like. This time, Rosie directed Sirius into the waiting room, and then almost as if were a conditioned response, she began to feel the nerves.

Thankfully, there would be no memory sharing in this part of the trial, it was just the reading of the verdict, but Rose didn't want to see Lockhart again. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying to control the nausea.

Sirius eyes her meaningfully. "Nervous?" He asked.

"A little." She winced.

"Hey, this is the good part. This is where you get your justice."

"I just don't want to see him again."

The man nodded. "I know Rosie, but this is the last time. Think of it like a goodbye."

"More like a good riddance." She added.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Arthur Weasley popped his head into the room, his expression stricken.

"Rose. Hi honey, I just wanted to stop by and see you."

Rosie's stomach clenched, and so it began. Sirius stood up to flank her. "Hi Mr. Weasley." She said softly. The man moved forward, almost like he wanted to embrace her but thought better of it.

"Sweetheart, I just wanted to let you know how deeply sorry I am for what happened, and that everyone at home is rooting for you."

Rosie closed her eyes momentarily. This was the start of many of these types of conversations she was sure. Opening them again, she grimaced. "Thanks Mr. Weasley. I appreciate it." The best she could do was be polite.

"To think, last summer when you stayed with us, this had all just happened. It makes a lot of sense now. I'm glad you had Ginny to make you feel better."

This was straying into territory that Rose did not want to touch.

"Yeah, well, Ginny needed someone too, so it was a good arrangement." She continued awkwardly, hoping that he'd leave.

Mr. Weasley nodded, but did not seem to listen to what she'd said. The Weasleys really didn't like talking about what happened with Ginny the previous year, it was something that Rosie thought should've been handled better. At least Rose had had Severus, who had acknowledged her pain.

The man patted her shoulder uncomfortably, and then smiled.

"Good luck then Rose." He said as he made to leave. When he was gone, she turned to face Sirius who cocked an eyebrow.

"I stayed with the Weasleys last summer." She informed him.

The man was about to say something, but Mrs. Bones walked in and informed them that it was time to enter.

Sirius sighed and held out his arms as an invitation. Rosie wrapped herself around him in the hug, and then he interlocked their arms again and led her into the room.

"Chin up Prongslet, you should be proud." He whispered as they took their seats.

Prongslet? That was new too. She had to admit, it was kind of a cute nickname.

The Wizengamot was introduced once again, in case they were all too old and senile to remember each other from the previous day, and then Rosie was introduced. When she sat back down, Rose lay her head on Sirius' shoulder in anticipation of Lockhart's arrival. Her body tensed and her breath caught as the prisoner was led into the room in chains once again, the same dejected stare on his face from the previous day when his representative had quit asking questions.

Sirius' eyes followed him, expression hardening. Men, she sighed internally. They were all the same. Rosie was just thankful that Siri hadn't tried to talk about Moony yet.

The narrator began to speak then, and Rose tuned out. She did not come back into focus until the vote was to be done. When asked to stand in favor of a guilty verdict on all counts, Rosie was shocked as she watched every single wizard in the room stand. Dumbledore made eye contact with her as he rose and nodded.

She heard the cry of, "Guilty!" and then the sentence was served.

Lockhart would spend six years in Azkaban. Following his imprisonment, he would be forced the register on a list for sex offenders, and complete mandatory community service hours for the following six years. He would also be barred from contacting Rose and would be obligated to leave any space that she occupied.

That was for life. She barely felt Sirius squeeze her shoulder in triumphant support. Rose didn't really feel like celebrating. She just felt empty. Lockhart crumpled in front of them. His face fell and his body seemed to give out. Her heart stuttered.

Sirius helped her up and led her towards the exit, ducking into a small side room before the reporters could begin to crowd them. He pulled her into a hug, spinning her around.

"You did it!" The man smiled, but his smile faded when he saw her downcast expression.

"Hey, Rosie, what's wrong? Aren't you happy?"

She winced. No, she wasn't happy. She wasn't happy at all. Nothing had changed. Rose wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but everything felt exactly the same.

"Siri…" She began. "Doesn't it make you upset to think about another person being put in Azkaban? You know, after what happened to you."

He frowned. "Honey, that man deserves everything that Azkaban has to offer."

"I guess, but does he really? Does anybody deserve that?"

Sirius was quiet for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. When he did speak, it was with purpose.

"Rose. I don't know… I didn't see what it was like for you, what Lockhart did, but you've gotta know one thing. Remus does not cry. Mind you, I wasn't there for a lot of the hard shit, but I have known him for a long time. Moony, he just doesn't cry, but Rose, when he got home yesterday, he broke down. Like on the floor. I've never seen him like that."

Rosie winced.

"What I'm trying to say is… If what that bastard did to you could make Remus cry, then he bloody well deserves it Prongslet."

She bowed her head. "I never wanted to make anyone suffer." Rose sighed. "Even him. I just didn't want to see him anymore… to worry about running into him."

He nodded understandingly. "I know, but you did good Rose. Really." Sirius draped his arm around her, and pulled her into the ministry halls, which had cleared out.

"I hate taking you back there to Snape. Are you sure you don't want to come back with me and talk to Remus? He's pretty cut up."

Rosie shook her head. "Not yet Siri. I just… need to be with Severus for a while, now that all this is over."

"Alright, I get it. Just, don't stay away too long. We miss you."

She nodded, and allowed him to leave her with the potions master, who was fretting by the fireplace once again. When Rosie arrived home after dinner with Severus that night, she went straight to bed. Moony hadn't come out to greet her, and Sirius had been having alone time in his room. Rose wasn't sure what Siri did all the time alone in his room, but he spent a lot of time up there.

She thought he might be depressed. The next morning when she awoke, it was already late. Eight o'clock had passed and Moony still wasn't up. Neither was Sirius, but that was normal. Rosie poked her head into Moony's room to find him still asleep, or perhaps he was passed out, because an empty bottle of firewhiskey lay on its side beside him. She popped into Siri's room too to see if they'd been drinking together, but he was awake, tracing the outline of his headboard distractedly.

He did not notice her. Rose flooed over to Severus' to ask for hangover potion, which he gave to her with a glare, muttering something about irresponsible guardians. When she returned, she busied herself making breakfast, and then resolved to bring the potion up to Moony.

Picking up the firewhiskey bottle from the side table and setting it right, Rosie planted a kiss on her guardian's head and spoke, "Alrighty Moony, up and at'em." She pulled at his shoulders and the werewolf moaned in pain.

After several tries, she succeeded in getting him into a sitting position and touched the vial to his lips.

"It's hangover potion." Rose told him firmly.

"Ugh. Thanks sweetie." He groaned, leaning into her touch.

"You shouldn't do this to yourself because of me." She lectured, remembering Severus' words to her.

"Oh Rosie, please let me explain…"

"Hush." Rose sighed. "We can talk when you're better. Go wash up, and I have breakfast ready downstairs."

"You're an angel." He moaned again, pulling himself to stand.

She left Moony and knocked on Sirius' door.

"Breakfast is hot, come down Siri." The man rolled over and mumbled something.

Rosie left him to his own devices. She knew he would come down later. Rose set the table and waited for Moony to amble his way down the stairs. When he was finally seated, the werewolf looked up at her with a pained expression.

"You shouldn't have to do this for me. I should be doing this for you my love. I should've…"

Rosie cringed.

"Rose, please listen, I am so sorry. You've got to understand, I love you more than anything. You're the most important person for me, and I couldn't bear it honey. I couldn't bear to see him do that to you." The man shook his head and closed his eyes. "But I should've…" He continued at the same moment that Rose exploded.

"Yes. You bloody well should have Moony! You should've said something, ANYTHING would have been better than silence. You made my worst fear come true. I didn't EVER want you to have to see that, and you knew it! You knew it and you still… you still… YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY!"

Moony closed his eyes and allowed her to yell. "You're right, Rose. I really screwed up, and I'm sorry, but please know that this does not change how I see you honey. Not in the least."

"You are _lying_ to me." She spat. "I am tainted Moony. Ever since he did that, I've been poisoned, and now you know."

The werewolf recoiled, then stood up and took her arms in his grasp. "Well then I must have a fondness for poison honey, because I've never loved you more." He scolded softly.

Rosie growled and pushed her head roughly into his shoulder, allowing him to put his arms around her. "I'll just hurt you Moony."

He nudged her. "If hurting me is what you've been doing this entire year then please continue because I don't think I`ve ever been happier."

"Git." She grumbled. "You could've just said no Moony. Though, you did win the whole damn thing telling me to cry like that."

"That was all you sweetie. You are so wonderfully expressive. Lily was a lot like that. She knew how to get riled up."

"Now you're just getting desperate bringing up mom."

"Is it working?" He smirked.

"Oh, definitely" She sighed, leaning into him further.


	57. Chapter 57

"Now, what will you do if you are separated from Black?" Severus asked.

"I will use a point me spell to find him."

"Excellent, and in the event that you are captured by death eaters?"

Rosie cringed. "Erm… tell them that Severus Snape is my guardian and list off an array of colorful hexes that you are well versed in."

The potions master glared. "I do not find this humorous."

"Sorry, erm, probably let them do whatever they want to me…Severus, do you actually think they'll try to capture me? I wouldn't last five minutes."

Severus growled. "No, I do not believe they will target you; however, should you find yourself in that situation, you will be equipped with a galleon, charmed with a tracking spell."

Rosie raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Are you sure this isn't just some elaborate scheme to make sure I don't sneak into Cedric's tent?"

The man was livid. "Rose. Pay attention to me." He spat.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Really, it just makes me nervous to think about ok?" She shifted.

Severus sighed. "Behave. I would be extremely distressed were I forced to mourn you."

Rosie closed her eyes. That was Severus speak for 'I love you.' She grabbed his arm lightly in her hand. "I love you too Severus. I'll be careful. I won't leave Sirius' side."

He nodded and let his breath out.

Sirius was practically bouncing with excitement the morning of the Quidditch World Cup. They had had to wake up at the crack of dawn to meet the Weasleys and the Diggorys at the portkey site, and he hadn't even complained about the early hour or the long walk.

"Your dad and I went to one of these once. Your grandfather took us the summer after I ran away from home. We were sixteen." He smiled at the memory.

"Who played?" Rosie indulged him.

"I think it was France and Switzerland." My girlfriend at the time was French, and she spent the whole time sulking because France lost.

"Sirius Black had an actual girlfriend? For how long?" She giggled.

"Hey, you're so mean Rosie. I had lots of girlfriends."

"Ok, but what was your longest relationship?"

He furrowed his brows… "Well, I did date this one girl for six months in my twenties, but it didn't end very well."

"Uh huh." Rose winked.

Sirius glared at her. "Don't even try to tell me that you're not the same. I see the way you go back and forth over the Diggory boy."

She pushed him lightly. "Git. I love Cedric."

"Yeah, today." He shot back. She pouted at him.

"Was James like that?" Rose asked as they walked.

"What? An ass?"

"Yeah, with women I mean."

"Pfft. No, believe me I tried to influence him Prongslet, but he had his eyes set on Lily from first year. It was Lils who resisted for so long. He mooned over her for years."

"That's kind of weird." She laughed, "but I guess it's sweet."

"Heya, Rosie, can I ask you something? And can you promise not to get irritated and stop talking to me?"

Rose cocked an eyebrow as his tone deepened and he draped an arm across her shoulder. "Yeah, go ahead." She allowed.

"Why do you call him James?"

Her stomach lurched. "What do you mean? That's his name."

"You know what I mean." He commented softly. "I've never once heard you call Lily by her name."

"Siri, I just… I have complicated feelings when it comes to James Potter that I just don't have when I think about my mom."

"Yeah, I kinda got that Rosie, but… why?"

She flushed defensively. "I don't know."

"Is it a Snape thing? Because if you're taking Snape's side in all of that school rivalry bullshit you should know that the greasy bat dealt it out just as much as he got it." His voice rose in pitch.

"Woah. Siri relax. I am not gonna fight with you about this. It's not because of Severus. He and I never speak about my father."

"Then what is it Rose? I mean, he just… he loved you so much and sometimes I feel like you don't realize that. Remus would never ask, but he is curious too."

"It's complicated. Maybe it's a girl thing…"

Sirius' brows knitted together. "What?"

"Like… I don't know, some sort of daddy issue. I've just always kind of felt more, erm, abandoned by him than my mother. I didn't grow up with a dad, and girls are supposed to have dads to… you know, protect them and stuff, and I had to find people to do that, but it was already kinda too late."

"Oh." He breathed. "I guess I didn't really think about it like that."

"When Severus taught me the patronus charm, I asked him what he thought mine would form, and he said a stag, but I knew that it wouldn't. I don't want to disrespect my father, or the sacrifice that he made for me, and god what I wouldn't do just to spend five minutes with him, but I can't help but feel… strange about it all."

Sirius winced and nodded. "What is your patronus Rosie?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

She let out a soft little squeak of discomfort. "A bat." Her voice was barely audible.

"I didn't hear you Prongslet."

"It's a bat." She said, louder this time.

The man's eyes widened like saucers. "Sweet Merlin, could you be any more like Lily? What is it with you Evans girls?"

Rosie groaned and rubbed her hand over her face. "What is yours Siri?" She returned the question.

The man grimaced. "I can't manage the charm anymore." He started, "but, when I could, it was a lion."

Rose frowned. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. Maybe I will again someday." The ex-con tried to smile.

"I guess you went for the pretty obvious protector animal, didn't you? I thought maybe you'd say a dog."

"Naw, it was Gryffindor." He shared. "Gryffindor was what separated me from my family, and where I felt safe."

She lost herself in thought then, and for the first time wondered if Sirius had lived like she had at the Dursleys in his own home. He might have even had it worse. Rosie couldn't decide what would be shittier, having dead parents or having abusive parents.

Up ahead, Rosie spotted two tall figures standing together by a tree. One, she recognized right away as Cedric, and the other she assumed was Amos Diggory. Sirius coughed uncomfortably as the boy trotted over, sweeping her into his arms, and planting a semi-chaste kiss on her lips, his hands sweeping down, resting on the small of her back.

"Hey Rose. Man, I've missed you." He greeted, winking.

"I missed you too." Rosie allowed.

Amos Diggory approached then, his eyes trained on her. "Rose, this is my dad, Amos." Cedric introduced.

"Nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand.

Mr. Diggory nodded and smiled, taking her hand in his own. "Rose, I've heard so much about you. I was so sorry to hear about… erm, your struggles as of late. Terrible business that was."

Rosie flinched. She was doing a lot of that lately. Cedric cleared his throat and Amos closed his mouth. Sirius' hand came to rest on her arm. He stretched out his other hand toward Amos, "Sirius Black. Nice to meet you."

Cedric's father made a face, like he had smelled something unsavory, but did reach out to take Sirius' hand. "Yes… I have heard of you. I was expecting Lupin."

Rosie felt instantly wary. "I invited Sirius. He was my father's best friend." She informed the man. Cedric, who could sense the tension, nudged his father and grunted. "C'mon dad, we'd better get going." Out of spite, Rose locked her arm around Sirius'.

Just because she fought with the man didn't mean she was going to let anyone else act that way towards him. Cedric and his father moved in front of them to lead the way to the point at which they would meet up with the Weasleys.

Amos Diggory didn't speak much until Mr. Weasley showed up. It was Ginny who came through the clearing first, wrapping Rosie in a tight hug and grinning at Sirius. Next came the twins who took one look at her, their faces falling into identical frowns. George came up from behind her and Fred in front.

"We asked you specifically if there was anyone that we could take care of for you." George said seriously as they engulfed her, Rosie's feet floating a foot off the ground.

The twins were getting tall. Their words made her smile. "That was afterwards guys."

"Still. You should've told us."

She nodded. Cedric was eying the three of them, a strange look on his face. Was he jealous? Of Fred and George? As the twins put her down, the moment she'd dreaded the most fell upon her with a sudden clarity.

Ron and Hermione appeared through the trees, walking with the hands interlocked. As soon as Hermione caught sight of Rose she grimaced visibly.

"Oh Rosie!" She cried, moving to hug her. "I can't believe you never told me. We shared a room the entire time he was hurting you. I could've helped." Tears brimmed in the girl's eyes.

Everyone had stopped and was staring at them.

"Mione, I didn't know it was happening." Rose tried to whisper.

"Still, I just… How awful Rose. It all makes sense now." Her face was beginning to flush with embarrassment when Ron spoke.

"Yeah, he didn't seem like the type to do that." The boy grunted awkwardly.

Rosie whirled around searching for some sort of distraction. Sirius caught her eye and walked over.

"So quidditch huh?" He said smoothly… trying to move the conversation forward. Hermione seemed to catch on to his intent because she changed her facial expression, but Rosie knew that this wouldn't be the last of her friends' questions.

By the time that they had arrived at the campsite and pitched the tent, Rose was exhausted with her friends. Between Cedric trying desperately to filter his father, Hermione's feelings of betrayal masked as concern, and Ron's awkward demeanor, she was left praying for the game to begin. Sirius had been trying to keep conversation going, taking every opportunity to avoid discussing the trial.

The game was to begin in two hours, so they had plenty of time. Cedric approached her outside of the tent she would share with Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and asked if she'd take a walk with him. Rosie felt bad because she had invited Sirius. She wanted to make sure that he had a good time, and for that reason she didn't want to wander off with Ced.

However, Sirius must have seen the apprehension in her face because he came over, touched a hand to her back, and winked. "Go ahead, just be back in half an hour. Don't wander too far."

After that, Rose allowed her boyfriend to drag her away. Immediately, she found the root of the problem. "Rose. Listen, I'm sorry about my dad." The boy started.

"He works for the ministry, and he was there when Sirius was first arrested. He still doesn't believe he's innocent."

Rosie's eyes widened. "What? He knows they used veritaserum on him, right?"

"I don't know… I don't know why he's acting this way."

"It's fine Ced, it's not your fault, but I'm not gonna ditch Siri alright? I invited him. He doesn't erm… get to enjoy himself a lot, so I'm gonna make sure he has a good time."

"Yeah, that's ok, it's fine. Just, give me something to think about going into the game." Cedric winked. Rosie raised her eyebrows and leaned up and into him, pressing her lips softly against his mouth. He growled and brought her closer, tracing his teeth along her lip, and sucking gently. Letting out of a soft moan, she clung onto the boy and leaned back up against a tree.

The kiss began to heat up and Rosie was very aware of the lack of crowding where they were, allowing the boy to caress her body. Both sufficiently distracted, they didn't notice the sound of someone coughing… or perhaps clearing their throat. Cedric pulled back and blushed to find Hermione watching from a few feet away.

"Sorry to interrupt." She started, blushing. "We were just gonna start exploring if you wanted to come."

The couple pulled apart and headed back to the campsite, passing several familiar faces. Ginny had found Dean and was making eyes at him. They came up behind Sirius and Amos who seemed to be on the tail end of a rousing discussion.

Sirius watched Rosie leave with the Diggory boy and felt a familiar shadow approach behind him. "Cedric was under the impression that you and Rose did not get along." Amos said tersely. He cocked an eyebrow, "Not at first, but we're getting there."

"What purpose does you serve in her life? I'd imagine that the last thing the girl needs hanging around is another man."

"I'm sorry? Have I offended you in some way?" Sirius asked, his tone sharp.

"Forgive me, I just think it's odd that the first thing you do when you escape ministry custody is look for the daughter of a schoolmate."

"James was like my brother. I was Rosie's godfather."

"Not anymore." Amos continued.

"Is there a point to this?" He snapped.

"Just… don't pretend to be something you're not. My Cedric spent weeks suffering because you would not let him speak with young Rose, something you had no right to bar him from."

"That's what this is about?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Remus, her legal guardian, agreed with me. If you think that your kid suffered, you obviously don't have a clue what he did to deserve it."

"I know all about the drunkenness at the Longbottom party. Ced only left because he didn't want to be tempted to take advantage of the girl in her vulnerable state."

"Ew. Maybe it's your son that has the problem if that's what stopped him from bringing her home like he said he would."

"Listen Black, I like Rose, she seems sweet and it is understandable that she was upset, but I will not have her playing with Cedric's sensibilities."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've read about… sexual attacks Black. I've heard it can make good girls do things they shouldn't. The alcohol, the way she flounces around with men, the Weasley twins. I just don't want her to be a bad influence on him. Ced has a bright future."

Sirius' eyes widened. "Your kid is three bloody years older than her and he can't even cast a god damn contraceptive charm Diggory, while we're talking about bad influences. Trust me, Rose isn't the one that Cedric should fear if she goes to Snape for another emergency potion."

"Sirius!" Rosie gasped from behind, her face shocked.

Both Cedric and Hermione turned to stare at her. The man groaned and twisted around to face her, his mouth opening to say something.

"I don't know how much you just heard Rosie but trust me, this jackass said worse."

Cedric scowled at his father. "Dad, what the hell? I told you to stay out of it."

Amos Diggory rounded on Rosie then, and she flinched back.

"You're not using contraception?" He glowered. "Is that what you want? Are you looking to trap my son Miss Potter?"

Cedric turned to face her, his mouth open. "Rose?" He asked in disbelief.

"Oh my god. Are you daft? You don't even recognize the bloody contraceptive charm when I cast it every single time?" She vented at her boyfriend.

"Cast it." Amos Diggory bared down on her. Rosie looked helplessly to Sirius. "Diggory, get fucked." He barked at Amos.

Hermione's mouth had been open since they had overheard Sirius. "You're having sex?" She whispered urgently.

Rose sighed and cast the charm over herself in full view. Cedric's face was hard to read, but he turned to his dad and nodded. "Yeah, she does cast that."

Amos nodded curtly. "I apologize Rose. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way."

"Oh, but you'll speak about her behind her back though?" Sirius spun to face him, his cheeks red with indignation.

"Dad, what did you say?" Her boyfriend's eyebrows furrowed. The older Diggory just shook his head.

"Unbelievable." Sirius muttered to himself.

The tension was palpable. Rosie breathed out again and rubbed her temples. "Can we just, let this die?" She asked softly. "We can just forget about it and enjoy the world cup. I've never been to a professional match and I really wanted to have a good time."

Cedric sighed and leaned into her back, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Yeah, let's just forget this. Dad?" He lifted his eyes. Amos agreed, scratching his head uncomfortably. Rosie kissed Cedric back and then separated from him, resuming her place at Sirius' side, and then extending a hand to Hermione. Her once best friend gave her a look, but then smiled and accepted it.

She leaned in to Sirius and whispered low, so only he could hear, "Thanks."

"Anytime Little Prongs." He winked.

Just in case Rosie was beginning to enjoy herself and relax too much, as it turned out, the Malfoys would be sharing the same box as them during the game, which she did not find out until they had climbed what seemed to be every stair in the stadium. Rose had just been in the process of finding her seat, Sirius in front of her, when she heard the familiar voice.

"Potter." Malfoy growled. "What are you doing here?"

Rosie's eyes widened, and she spun around to find Malfoy standing in front of what looked to be his parents.

"What do you bloody think?" She tried to play it off. Rose would not react. Nobody knew about her and Malfoy except Sirius.

"They let you out then? Thought you'd still be in hiding."

She glared. Malfoy looked to Cedric and raised an eyebrow.

"Diggory." He acknowledged.

Rosie's stomach clenched with nerves, but they were unfounded as Draco took his seat behind them and did not say anything more. The match began and Rosie spent the whole time shrieking and squealing with Sirius who was positively enraptured. Rose was enraptured by… other things, as she followed the dreamy seeker, Viktor Krum with her eyes, but she didn't mention that part to Sirius.

Rose wished Ginny had been sitting with them so that they could watch him together, but she knew that her friend was more interested in the handsome, dark-skinned, Dean Thomas. She couldn't really blame her. The half time show was the most interesting part. Having forgotten all about Sirius' mention of Veela over birthday dinner, Rosie was shocked to actually see them.

They were very beautiful, in almost an inhuman sort of way. When they began to dance, she started to giggle. Sirius moved forward, almost like he was in a trance, his body sneaking toward the edge of the box. Rose jumped forward, wrapping her hands around his eyes and dragging him back to his seat.

"Siri, you dog!" She shouted, still laughing. The man broke into a grin. "Can't help it Sweetheart."

Cedric had made do on his promise to bring a blindfold, and it seems that Malfoy had the same idea because he and his father stayed in their seats. However, Mr. Weasley, Amos, and the twins all lurched forward as Sirius had. Hermione had her hands clamped around Ron's face on the other end of the box. When the Veela finally left, there were a lot of red faces and awkward coughing sounds going around.

In the end, Ireland won, but Krum caught the snitch. Rosie had been hoping for Bulgaria, so she was a bit disappointed, but Sirius had wanted Ireland, and his excitement was hard to ignore. Cedric swept her up into a long kiss while everyone cheered, and Rose swore that she heard Malfoy chuckle from behind.

Her suspicions were confirmed when a small piece of paper landed in her lap just as everyone was about to leave the stands. She didn't dare open it in front of everyone. Instead, she pocketed it until they were all tucked back into their tents and waiting to eat. The note read,

 _Meet me at the edge of the forest at midnight._

The neat scrawl was unmistakably that of Draco Malfoy. What on earth did Malfoy want with her alone in the forest at midnight? Rose knew the answer, absolutely nothing good. Every instinct that Rosie had in her body screamed no, cried danger. There was going to be a death eater attack that night for Merlin's sake.

Malfoy's only intention could be to hurt her, or perhaps… no, he wouldn't want to… Rosie shook her head. Either way, it would be a terrible idea to meet him. The problem was that on top of insatiable Gryffindor curiosity, Rose Potter also had a bit of a thing for danger, especially lately.

Severus was going to kill her. That evening, after she had kissed Cedric goodnight, and Sirius had fallen into a well-deserved sleep, Rosie sat up talking with Ginny and Hermione. Ron had fallen asleep near the other man.

"Rose! You're having sex and you never told me!" Ginny whispered accusingly.

"I'm sorry! I didn't want you guys to think badly of me."

Hermione blushed, "I'm just surprised Rosie… especially after hearing about…you know."

"Erm, it actually kinda helps with that." She confessed, chagrined.

"It does?" Hermione asked. Rosie nodded.

"I've been thinking about… um, trying it." Her friend confessed, her face reddening further.

"Mione! With my brother?!" Ginny squealed.

"Shhh!" Rose hissed, he'll wake up.

"Well, he definitely wants to… and I think I do to."

"Ew." The redhead whined.

"Well why haven't you? You've been together the same as Cedric and me, and we've been at it for a while."

"I'm nervous!" She squeaked. "It's supposed to hurt the first time. Did if hurt for you?"

Rosie cringed. "Uh, the first time yeah, a lot, but the first time with Cedric no, and it hurt every time with Lockhart." Her face contorted.

Her friends didn't seem to know what to say to that. Finally, Hermione spoke. "How can I make it… better when we do it?"

"Oh my gosh." Rose started, remembering, "Let me tell you about this thing that Cedric did…" She proceeded to explain in detail her most fond encounter with oral sex, as the two girls listened with rapt attention.

Rosie was corrupting her friends and she knew it. The other girls had fallen asleep around eleven thirty, which left her plenty of time to contemplate her decision. Ditching the tracking galleon, which would sound an alarm if she left the tent, Rosie unzipped the fabric and stepped out into the night, wrapping her pajama top tightly around herself. The entire walk was just one long symphony of her mind singing, "Turn around you imbecile" in Severus' baritone drawl, but she didn't listen.

As she reached the edge of the forest, it was not difficult to spot the pale figure of the boy in question.

"Potter. You came." He stated plainly.

"Erm… yeah." Rosie replied, shifting uncomfortably. "Why did you ask me here Malfoy?"

"You owe me."

"I owe you? What the hell do you want from me?" She spat.

The boy lunged forward, trapping her wrist in his hand and yanking her further into the forest. He spun her around, grabbed onto the other wrist, and pinned her against the tree, pushing his body against hers. Rosie squirmed and growled, trying to get him off her.

"What the fuck Malfoy?" Her instincts told her to fight, but she suppressed them.

"I need this." He snarled, and for some reason, she understood. Rose was beginning to feel the familiar warmth between her legs and cursed inwardly.

She was so bloody weak. Thoughts of Cedric were the last on her mind as Draco Malfoy began to ravish her once again, his strong arms still holding her hostage against the tree.

"You bloody get off on this too don't you?" He sniggered. "That's fucked up Potter. "I bet Diggory doesn't do this."

Oh, Draco Malfoy was so foul, but Rosie couldn't help it, his words only spurred her on more. He saw her flinch at the mention of Cedric and scoffed,

"I won't tell a soul. Pansy'd skin me alive." The tension that he created within her rivalled anything she'd every felt before… or perhaps it was adrenaline.

Then, the boy shocked her. He began to speak, his breath tickling her ear. "My father's a bloody death eater. He's been bringing them all over to the manor. I can't stand it." He hissed, tightening his grip on her.

Rosie's eyes widened.

"I can't stand it, and I'm afraid." Draco confessed.

Then, with a soft groan, he crushed his lips to hers. There tongues warred with each other, her body responding eagerly to his touch. There was something familiar about his growl, his presence that was so attractive. This time was very similar to the last. Malfoy had some sort of control issue because he insisted on casting the contraceptive charm himself once again. At least he had remembered. She'd been ready to do it again without.

Rosie was pretty sure that Severus would actually have murdered her, like Avada Kedavra, if she'd asked for a potion because she'd slept with Draco Malfoy in the woods. It was in that moment that Rosie realized something horrible. She understood now exactly what she was doing. It was Severus. This was a Severus thing. This was just another screwed up part of her psyche, another aspect of her daddy issue.

Malfoy reminded her of Severus and that's why she was doing this again. She wanted to scream. Draco was doing his trousers up again, and she was pulling on hers mechanically.

"Oh god, I'm so fucked up." Rose whined. Once again, she cursed James Potter for dying and leaving her with this defect.

"Join the bloody club." The boy returned. "Now, get back to your tent before Sirius Black hits me." He insisted.

Rosie nodded and turned to go… but that's when the screams began. Chaos ensued. Malfoy cursed and pulled her into a bush, where they waited out the storm. She trembled with fear, afraid for Sirius and for her friends. "Relax Potter. They're just screwing with the muggles."

"That's awful." Rose whimpered.

"I know." He winced. It took a long time for things to quiet down, and it wasn't long before she began to hear voices.

"Rose!" "Rosie!" "Rosie can you hear me?" It was Siri.

He stumbled into their hiding spot and when he set eyes on her, his body sagged. The man ran forward and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"Rosie honey, I was so bloody worried." It looked like he was about to start crying. When the relief settled, the rage began. Sirius took one look at Malfoy, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"You didn't. You did NOT actually sneak out of the tent to do THIS again!" He roared, gesturing to Draco.

"Sirius I…"

"Don't. Don't even speak. I don't want to hear it. How stupid are you Rose?! God You could have been killed! How DARE you?!" He was really angry.

Rosie just hung her head and allowed him to drag her back to the tent, leaving Malfoy behind in the forest. She felt terrible for putting him through that.


	58. Chapter 58

Sirius was so angry, that he made her walk with him all the way to the apparition access point in middle of the night. She had to run to keep up with his lengthy stride. After he'd told her not to speak, he hadn't said another word, silently fuming.

It took almost forty minutes to get there, and by the time they arrived Rose was breathing heavy. Her clothes felt as dirty as her soul from the time she'd spent on the ground waiting out the attack. Holding out his arm wordlessly, she squeezed her eyes shut, half in shame, and half in preparation for the impending apparition. They landed roughly outside of Moony's cottage. Sirius caught her as she fell forward.

He unlocked the door, letting Rosie in, and then shut it loudly behind him.

"Sirius…" She started when they were safely inside. "Please don't do this." She begged, referring to his obvious intention of ignoring her. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Looking at you? How am I looking at you? Do I look pissed? Because I was worried sick for you Rose so bloody worried, and then relieved when I saw you. Relieved that I could finally be furious with you, instead of terrified of finding your dead body tossed in a ditch somewhere! You KNEW that there was going to be a death eater attack tonight at the world cup. We took safety precautions, you SWORE that you would stay by my side!"

"I know. I know Sirius, I screwed up, I'm so sorry!"

"Tell me why Rose. Why did you go to him? Did you want to hurt yourself again? Does your life mean so little to you? Do we, mean so little to you?" He gestured his hand up the stairs where she knew her godfather was resting.

Rosie's face contorted. "Siri…I, I don't know what to say."

By this time, Moony who was exhausted from the fast-approaching full moon, had heard the commotion and had come rushing down the stairs, his face full of alarm.

"Rosie, Sirius? Did something happen?"

Sirius shot her one last glare, and began to stalk towards the stairs, bypassing Moony, and making his way to his bedroom. She could tell that he'd gotten there by the resounded slam of his door as he closed it in anger. Rosie was left standing there, awkwardly, in her dirty pajamas.

Moony, who was too tired to be more inquisitive just sighed and motioned for her to follow him. She stayed in his bed that night, allowing the comfort of his affection to make her feel better about the damage that she'd caused.

Remus awoke the next morning with his whole-body aching. He could tell that the transformation that night would be a difficult one. It took a moment for him to orient himself into the situation in which he woke up. Sirius had brought Rosie home in the middle of the night… that he remembered, and that's why she was curled up against him.

Her body was still tense and her sleep fitful. They'd fought about something. This wasn't a shock to the werewolf. When Sirius and Rose got along, they were downright adorable, but when they fought, well... it was never pleasant. Still, it seemed odd that his best friend would go to the trouble of bringing Rosie all the way back home in the middle of the night. It must have been one hell of a row.

That day, his only responsibility was to get Rose up and ready to go to Snape`s. He'd begun by trying to shift her, so that he himself could get up. Much to his horror, in the process of moving his goddaughter, Remus had caused the sleeve of her pajama top to ride up her arm, revealing a large, hand-shaped bruise forming beneath the fabric of her wrist.

Stomach clenching uneasily, he carefully rolled up the sleeve of her other arm and found the same pattern of bruising marring the opposite wrist. His thoughts began to race. It couldn't be… Sirius would never… Remus thought, but the nagging feeling stayed with him. It was in the back of his mind through breakfast and remained there as he helped her pack an overnight bag.

He wanted to ask, but he worried that if Sirius had hurt her whilst they`d been arguing, that she might not want to tell him. That's why Remus resolved to talk to Severus.

When the hostile man arrived, and Rosie was still upstairs, Remus pulled him to the side. "Severus. There was a problem with Rosie and Sirius last night, and I think you should talk with her about it." He advised.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Were they not otherwise located?" He inquired coldly.

"Well, yes… but Sirius brought her home in the middle of the night. I was exhausted, but I heard them shouting. Rose hasn't said a word about it all morning, and Sirius hasn't come out of his room."

"Is that it…? He sneered, obviously irritated. I was under the impression that their relationship was particularly volatile. I am sure that once again the mutt will crawl back groveling on his knees and Rose will accept him."

"It is, you're right… I just, and I may be wrong, but I noticed this morning while I was waking Rosie that she has bruises on her arms."

"Bruises?" Snape's tone hardened.

"Yes, identical hand-shaped bruises on both wrists. Now, I don't know how they got there, or what happened… but I'm worried that if I ask, she might not tell me the truth."

"You think it was Black?" The man hissed.

"No! Not really anyways, I've never known Sirius to be like that… but just in case, I thought maybe it was best for you to talk to her." Snape grunted and went back to ignoring him.

When Rosie came downstairs the next morning, Severus was already there standing tensely by the fireplace. Moony was making tea. In that moment, Rose wished she had pursued occlumency further. She did not want to talk with her guardian about what'd happened last night, but she knew that Severus would wonder why they'd come home early.

Moony was an angel as usual, and even though he was sick as a dog, he had still made her a tea to take along to the potions master's flat and had given her a hug and kiss goodbye.

"Be careful Moony." She said into his shoulder before he pulled away.

"Always princess." He nodded, allowing her to pass.

"Morning Severus." Rosie grinned. The man cocked an eyebrow at her and bowed. "Good morning Rose."

"What are we doing today?" She asked lightly, permitting him to guide her closer to the fire. "I have some brewing to do for the new term. If you wish, you may watch. You might just learn something. Or, you may feel free to lose your day doing something less educational."

"Sounds like a blast." Rosie replied, turned to wink at Moony who was smirking.

The dour man pulled her into the green flames, and they were gone. When they arrived, he moved straight towards the lab and Rose followed. She knew she'd been bored out of her mind if she were left to her own devices, but she really hated potions. Severus was never nice to her when it came to his preferred subject. He frequently told her that she did not possess the natural disposition.

She was just lucky that he ignored her in class now. "Make yourself useful cutting the iguana tails for a sleeping draught." He directed when he realized that she had chosen to follow him.

"Yes, Professor Snape sir!" She giggled. Severus glared at her, unamused. "One quarter inch pieces, and do not skin them."

"Are you alright Severus?" Rosie asked, using a tone of concerned innocence. Maybe Moony had talked to him about the fight. Her fears were confirmed when he spoke again, even colder this time, from where he was brewing the base for the potion.

"I heard about what happened… last night." His statement was vague. Rose began to become nervous… He hadn't given her enough information to know what he'd heard. For all Rosie knew, Moony could've talked to Sirius this morning, and he might've told Severus everything.

"What did you hear?" She asked, and then internally chastised herself. That was the statement of a guilty person.

"You would make a highly inadequate spy." He noted calmly. "I am awaiting a thorough explanation."

"Oh Severus, I didn't mean to put myself in danger, it just happened." Rosie whined.

"Do elaborate." He proceeded icily. Shit. He hadn't known.

"Erm… I kind of wasn't in the tent when the attack happened, and Sirius might have woken up to find me missing, and then he may have gotten angry with me and dragged me back home at three in the morning."

Severus stilled. "I see." The man went quiet. The silence was uncomfortable and seemed to stretch on for ages. If there was anything that Rosie hated more than being yelled at it was silence.

"Please don't be mad at me." She whispered after a long time, depositing the iguana tails in a jar next to him.

Rose flinched as her guardian turned quickly towards her, his cloak swooping behind him, and grabbed her left wrist. He pulled up the sleeve of her tight top and met her eyes. She groaned and flushed red, realizing what he was on about.

Rosie was bruised. "Lupin was concerned that your dogfather did this."

Her mouth dropped open. "You think that Sirius…? Oh god no. He would never!" She gasped.

"Take a moment and think very carefully about your response, because, I am reasonably sure that you did not inflict these… injuries upon yourself."

"They're not injuries Severus, urgh, Sirius had nothing to do with it."

"Please enlighten me. In what world do you live in in which these hand shaped bruises on your wrists are not considered injuries?" He interrogated, his stance offensive.

Rose shrunk away from him. "I… allowed it?" She tried meekly. The potions master paused.

"You allowed what? You allowed someone to bruise your arms?"

Rosie nodded, looking away.

Severus' expression faltered, misunderstanding evident in his eyes. "Why… pray tell…?

She cringed again flushing an even darker shade of crimson. Rose had to think of an excuse. "It was Hermione, she was really nervous during the death eater attack thing and she was holding onto me."

"You wish for me to believe that Miss. Granger did this?"

"Yes sir."

He knew she was lying, she was so terrible at it, but he did not push. Instead, her guardian sighed, long and low, allowing the potion to simmer, and rifled through his stores. Severus applied bruise balm to her wrists, his fingers moving gently across the sensitive skin. Rosie felt ashamed, but she didn't know what she was supposed to do to make this all better.

They had finished the day's allotted potions by two in the afternoon and Severus had suggested that they play a game, which was an odd but not unwelcome idea. Her guardian pulled out an old scrabble board from a linen closet and began to set up the pieces.

"You know I'm going to lose Severus." She stated plainly.

"Maybe you will learn to supplement your vocabulary." He countered.

Rosie glared, but it was playful.

"Severus, you grew up in this house, didn't you?"

"No. I grew up in London and walked miles every day to play in the children's park with your mother." He was obviously being sarcastic, but Rose laughed and replied,

"That sounds like something you would do."

"Indeed." He smirked.

"What was your family like? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No. I was an only child."

"And your parents?" She pushed.

"They are dead Rose." Severus' voice grew strained.

Rosie ignored his obvious discomfort and prodded again. "You said your mom was a witch and your dad was a muggle, right? That must have been weird."

"My father was a drunk. My mother, abused."

Her eyes widened. "Shit, that sucks."

"An accurate description." He allowed.

"But Severus, if your mother was a witch… couldn't she have stopped you know, the abuse?"

He sighed. "Of course, but there are people Rose who feel as though they deserve to be hurt, so they do nothing, even when they have the power to stop it." Her stomach churned as the potions master eyed her wrists meaningfully. This was not about his mother anymore.

She needed to find a new subject. "That's why you're such a git then." Rosie blurted out.

Her guardian raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, that's why you're such a git, _Sir_." She added.

"I am merely strict."

"More like repressed. When was the last time you went on a date?"

Severus' eyes widened at her line of questioning. "That is entirely irrelevant."

"Nuh uh. I've never even seen you speak to a woman on purpose. Except Professor McGonagall."

"I do not… _date_ , child. Now cease these questions. 'Lumos' is not a word. He added.

"It's a spell… duh."

"This is not a Latin scrabble board, we are using english words."

Rosie growled and rearranged her letters again, this time spelling out the word, 'solemn.'

"Much better."

"I don't think Amos Diggory liked me very much." She changed the subject again.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well… he yelled at me and asked me if I wanted to trap his son in a teenage pregnancy. Plus, he really _hated_ Sirius."

"I'm sorry?" Severus' nearly choked.

"You know, you were like one hundred percent right, Cedric is kinda immature. He didn't even know about the contraceptive spell."

"That, child, is because he does not place your wellbeing as top priority. If he did, he would have made sure that you were protected."

"You can't really think that Severus. He's so nice to me. Truly."

The man frowned. "Nice or good?" He asked, whilst placing the word, 'blithering.'

It had been a long time since the potions master had asked her that, and it made Rosie stop and think back to his words that morning at the breakfast table talking about Lockhart. "Good question." She hummed unhappily.

"Sirius took care of it though, he was pretty pissed off. I know you hate him, but Sirius was actually pretty good company, till I fucked it up."

"Language." He reminded her, arranging the word, "mutt."

"You chose that word on purpose." Rosie accused him.

"I don't know what you mean." He teased.

"Why did you hate the marauders so much Severus? Won't you please tell me? I can handle it… you know. I know that my parents weren't perfect."

He sighed. "I do not wish to discuss this with you."

"Please Severus, I want to know them, not just what everyone wants me to know."

"The marauders were… bullies Rose." Severus admitted slowly.

Rosie put down the word, 'alone,' and nodded, keeping her eyes trained on the board.

"Did they bully you?"

He made an almost inaudible noise that sounded like an affirmation.

She grimaced. "Even Moony?"

"No. Lupin was not a bully. Though, he did not do anything to dissuade them either."

"Oh, thank goodness." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sirius and James though?" Rosie bit her lip and Severus harrumphed. "It is not my intention to create resentment in you towards your father."

"I know Severus. Thank you… for that."

He set his letters to form the word, 'conflict.'

"Can I ask you one more question…? You don't have to answer."

Severus agreed stiffly.

"Why did you and my mom stop being friends?" As luck would have it, Rosie had the right letters to form the word, 'lily.'

The potions master stared at the word for a moment and then broke his silence. "I insulted her very deeply."

"Oh." Rose's brows furrowed. There were so many more questions brimming under the surface, like, what he'd said to her, and, what did her mom think about Severus joining Voldemort? Or, Why did he join Voldemort in the first place? But she didn't ask. She'd save those for another time.

In the end, Rosie won the scrabble game, but she knew that he'd let her. He was like that. They'd spent the rest of the afternoon reading, and they took a walk around to her mother's house again. Severus had wanted to cook dinner for her, but Rose stopped him. For once, she wanted to do something right, so she offered to cook. The potions master raised an eyebrow,

"If your brewing skills are any indication of your cooking ability, perhaps we'd better order takeaway."

"Hey! That's not fair. I'm a good cook."

Severus had agreed, but only after she'd given him the look, and then she had ordered him to mash the potatoes. Rose made kidney pie, her favorite, with mashed potatoes and gravy.

"This is surprisingly flavorful." He commented when they'd sat down to eat.

"I told you. I'm a good cook." She insisted.

"Indeed… the question is, why?"

"I cooked a lot as a little girl."

"You have not yet answered the question."

"Aunt Petunia preferred me to do it." Rosie sighed.

"Interesting… and yet, you arrived at Hogwarts the size of an eight-year-old child."

She winced. "I've always been skinny."

"Yes. My point exactly."

Rosie was able to successfully skirt around that topic as well, and the rest of the night went smoothly. In the morning, she always insisted on leaving early to take care of Moony. It horrified her to see him so weak. When Severus had dropped her off, her godfather had been trying unsuccessfully to change into pajamas. He blushed furiously at Rose's attempt to aid him, but he let her anyways.

"Honey, you don't have to…"

"I want to help Moony." She was already dreading her return to Hogwarts. Sirius was still asleep, as usual, so Rosie made a breakfast for two, and left a third portion under a heating charm. "Does he still hate me?" She asked quietly, motioning towards the empty chair.

"Oh, my love, he never hates you. He just doesn't always understand."

"We had an awesome time, until the night… It felt really nice, like we could be friends if we weren't both such assholes."

"Yeah, that's kind of what he said too sweetheart. He didn't tell me much, just that you risked your life to run off and do something stupid."

"An accurate description." Rosie said, copying Severus' words to her.

"Did Severus talk to you about…?" Moony winced, looking towards her wrists.

"Yeah, he did. It wasn't Siri. You know he would never. We're not _that_ bad." She reassured. "See? Good as new." Rose rolled up her sleeves to show him the healed skin.

The werewolf let out a sigh of relief, but then frowned. "What happened sweetie?"

"I don't wanna talk about it Moony, really, I'm fine."

Luckily, in that moment, Sirius chose to make his appearance. The man made a beeline for her and scooped her up into a tight hug. "I'm sorry for yelling at you Prongslet." He grumbled into her ear.

Rosie took a deep breath, accepting the affection. "I'm sorry for being weak, unstable, incredibly stupid, and for scaring you to death."

After that, things went on as normal, and with September approaching fast, Rose was trying to make the most of every moment. This was after all, the first summer she'd ever spent with her new, dysfunctional family.


	59. Chapter 59

On the morning that Rosie was to return to Hogwarts, she woke up feeling sick to her stomach. She felt like a little girl afraid to leave her mother behind, only it wasn't her mother. It was Moony. Rose was quite well aware that her guardian would get on fine without her.

Afterall, he'd done it for long enough, but that was the keyword, _fine_ , not well. It did help that Sirius was living with them, Rosie definitely didn't regret that decision. She knew he'd step up and make sure that Moony got through his transformation alright and had company, but her heart still ached at the thought of not seeing him until Christmas. Rosie had never been forced to miss anyone before. Not really. Her parents had died before she could even form memories.

This was her first, long overdue bout of separation anxiety.

She fought the tears all morning, through breakfast. Moony had helped her pack her trunk. It wasn't until the three of them arrived at King's Cross Station that Rose's emotions came to a head. Other students, much younger than her were boarding the train without so much as looking back towards their parents and here she was going to lose control because she was about to say goodbye to her legal guardian.

Moony, who had been incredibly quiet that morning breathed deeply and closed his eyes. He tried to shoot her a small smile, but it came out more like a grimace. It was Sirius who broke the tension.

"I'm gonna miss you kid." He frowned.

That was the straw that broke her. Rosie gasped, her whole body reacting to the weight of the moment.

"I don't want to go!" She burst, throwing herself at Moony who caught her and held on tight.

"Oh honey. I know princess. I know." He tried to soothe her but his voice broke. "But you have to go to school. You be good. Listen to Severus and write. Write a lot." There were tears in his eyes.

"You be careful." Rosie pleaded. "Please."

"Sirius, make sure Moony's careful." She turned to the man. He winked and nodded.

"And you…" She addressed Siri now. "Don't hide away in your room. Get out of bed and be human, got it? Be with each other, keep each other company."

Rose could barely finish the sentence. She pulled Sirius into a hug, and then Moony, who could not resist, put his arms around both of them and they all had a good cry. After a longer than normal amount of time, someone cleared their throat from behind the three of them. They pulled apart, and Rosie turned around to find Cedric waiting for her, head boy badge pinned to his robes.

He winced when he saw her tear streaked face and Rose was hit again with a wave of crushing guilt, as she typically felt now in the presence of her boyfriend. She hadn't so much as spoken to the boy since the world cup, only writing to give him a brief and untrue story about why she'd left early.

"Sorry guys, take your time." He allowed. Moony seemed to draw strength from somewhere in that moment because he straightened his shoulders, clasped a hand around Sirius' arm, leaning in to plant one more kiss on her cheek, and said,

"Alright Rosie, we'll see you soon. I love you."

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and said, "I love you too."

It would have been unbearable had they lingered any longer, and Moony knew this, so he clutched Sirius' arm tighter and apparated them away with a final pop. Rosie who was still feeling weepy, turned to Cedric with a watery smile and allowed him to embrace her.

"It'll be alright Rose." He tried to comfort her.

They moved onto the train together and he helped her find the compartment that contained Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Ced had to lead the prefects' meeting, so he kissed her goodbye and left her, still crying with Ginny. Her friend, who was used to Rosie's excessive emotions, just held her and stroked her hair. Ron and Hermione were accustomed to letting Ginny deal with her now.

"Oh Gin. I've just… never had a family to miss when I'm away." She cried. "The summer was too short."

"I know Rosie, I know, but hey, it will only make it that much nicer of a Christmas, right? And you know that Sirius will make sure that Professor Lupin is ok."

"I know, but sometimes Sirius forgets to make sure that Sirius is ok, and I don't know what they'll do if I don't make them breakfast in the morning." She sobbed.

"Maybe if it gets really hard you can ask Professor Snape to let you floo home and visit sometimes. You know he's always letting you get away with stuff."

Rosie nodded. That was a good idea. She would ask him. When she had calmed down, Ginny had decided to go off in search of Dean, who was not her official boyfriend yet, but was pretty close to it. Rose was stuck being the third wheel with Ron and Hermione who hadn't seen each other since the world cup. Resolving to go off and search for Cedric, she walked up and down the aisles of the train until she came across the prefects' compartment.

Rosie was about to enter, but what she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. The meeting was obviously over, and Ced was still inside. He was sitting next to a pretty Hufflepuff girl who was wearing a head girl badge. The girl was cute. She had blonde hair and that 'kissed by the sun' looking sheen to her skin. Maybe one of those girls who spent summers in Mallorca with her friends.

She looked like somebody who was happy all the time. Rose wouldn't have paid her appearance so much attention had she not had her hand resting on Cedric's bicep as they spoke, throwing her head back to laugh at something he'd said. Jealously curled around her stomach like a vice, but she quickly squashed it. Rosie had no right to feel jealous of anything that Ced did, not anymore, but she couldn't help it.

This was the head girl. This was the girl that her boyfriend would be spending so much time with for the next two years. Malfoy meant nothing to Rose, but this girl, she could grow to mean something to Cedric. Having had enough, she decided to make herself known.

Knocking lightly on the glass, the noise made Ced turned around, a grin breaking out across his face. He nudged the other girl and motioned towards Rosie, coming over to open the compartment.

"Rose! You're not crying anymore." He greeted her enthusiastically, taking her into his arms and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah, Ginny knocked some sense into me." She replied.

"Hey, Rose, I want you to meet Meadow. He pointed at the pretty Hufflepuff. She's the new head girl. Meadow, this is my girlfriend Rose."

The head girl beamed down at her.

"Hi Rose! It's so nice to finally meet you! Cedric here's told me so much about you. I've read about you of course, this summer in the paper. I have to say, what you did was so brave. I can't believe we had such a sick man as a teacher for so long!" She gushed.

Rosie flinched. She wanted to hide under a rock.

"Nice to meet you." Rosie said curtly.

Meadow's smiled never faltered, and she winked at Rose as they were sharing a secret. "I'll leave you two to catch up! See you around Ced." With that, the girl left the compartment.

"Who needs a patronus with her around." Rosie started when Meadow had gone, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah she's great." Cedric smiled, but his attention was elsewhere.

The boy seemed to drink in the sight of her, his eyes caressing her body. "I've really missed you Rose. The summer was way too long. I hope my dad didn't bother you too much at the cup. He's just protective since my mom…"

She cringed internally at the memory but tried to smile. "Don't worry about it Ced, I understand." Severus' words replayed over in her mind.

He moved closer now, checking over his shoulder to make sure nobody was passing by, and then trailed his hand up her spine from her tailbone to the nape of her neck.

"You're more beautiful every time I see you." He whispered in her ear.

Leaning forward, Cedric pressed his mouth against hers, his tongue running across the line between her lips, searching for access. Rose gave it to him and tried very hard to lose herself in his presence, in his touch, but her stomach turned in knots.

Why could she never remember how sweet he was and how much he adored her when Malfoy was around? Why couldn't this be enough? The effort was futile. Rosie just couldn't get into it. Pulling away, she winked.

"Well Mr. Head boy. Aren't we feeling sly this morning?" The boy did not catch the reluctance in her tone, and instead, pulled back beaming.

"Only for you." He replied.

Rose could feel the dagger of guilt twist itself inside of her and she had to pull back to prevent the blood from spilling. The rest of the train journey went as normal. Cedric joined her again in the compartment with Ron and Hermione, and Ginny dragged Dean in with them when they got closer to the station.

That evening at the sorting feast, Rosie finally understood what it was that Severus had been keeping a secret from her, and why he told her not to bring her broom this year. She obviously hadn't listened. It was a firebolt after all. Quidditch was cancelled, and in its place, Hogwarts would be hosting the Triwizard Tournament for the first time in a century.

Students from Beauxbaton School in France, and Durmstang in the north would be coming to stay, and there would be a champion selected from every school to compete. Rosie couldn't help but feel disillusioned. She had been looking forward to playing quidditch with her new broom. Ron seemed pretty excited about the tournament, and Fred and George were already scheming to try and hoodwink the age line that Dumbledore had mentioned.

Rosie looked up to the staff table and caught Severus' eye, smiling. His face stayed neutral until she looked away. He was _so_ affectionate, she thought sarcastically. Next to Severus sat a horrifically ugly man with a cane stick and a fake eye. The man had been introduced as Professor Moody, their new defense teacher. He was an auror, but he kind of looked like an evil henchman.

Rose remembered sneaking Dudley's abandoned cartoons and comic books, placing the Professor Moody among the pages. Maybe she was just bitter because it was Moody and not Moony. The man seemed to be muttering to himself, or perhaps to his food. How disappointing Rosie thought to herself, her inner narration taking the form of Severus' teacher drawl.

She made a quick mental note to send a letter to Sirius specifically to complain about the lack of sport that year. He would be sympathetic.


	60. Chapter 60

_Dear Moony,_

 _It's been like two days and I am already missing you so much. Class is boring. Severus is being a git in potions as usual. I don't know, I guess I just don't have the ability. My mom did, so that kind of sucks. You know, I'm not really very good at any subjects, except maybe arithmancy, but really, what can I use that for? We have this new defense professor, and I am so dreading classes with him this afternoon. His name is Moody. Maybe you know him. I'm trying not to judge him by his appearance, but right now he appears completely mad. I'm enjoying seeing my friends, but Ron and Hermione are gross, and Mione keeps asking me for sex tips. I just don't want to think about her and Ron… nevermind._

 _Ginny is with Dean now, sort of. They both want to be together but haven't said. I like Dean, even if he is a little too much like Ron. Is there an Oedipus complex for brothers? I wouldn't know. Cedric is fine. He makes a dashing head boy, but he's gone on his rounds so much that I don't get to see him as often, not much for broom closet rendezvous on my end, yet anyways. I've spent the last two days smiling politely as all my classmates make their opinion known about my trial. Everyone has been really supportive, but I HATE talking about it._

 _I would just rather that everyone forgets…like now. Professor McGonagall was the worst. She pulled me aside after transfiguration yesterday and it looked like she was gonna cry, apologizing and such for not noticing. Urgh. It was really hard to have that talk. She is a great professor; too bad I have none of James' transfiguration ability. Are you sure I wasn't switched at birth or something? Anyways, I'll write again soon. I love you Moony._

 _Yours,_

 _Rosie._

 _This next part is for Sirius, Moony do not read past here. It's PRIVATE._

 _Sirius,_

 _They are having a bloody Triwizard tournament here at Hogwarts this year. Do you know what that means? NO quidditch. I am so pissed off. I have a bigger problem though, and you can't tell Moony about this one. I can't even look my stupid boyfriend in the eyes. I feel so damn guilty Siri. I don't know what to do. Should I break up with him? He's being so sweet and it's killing me._

 _There is obviously something wrong with me. How can I move past it and forget? I haven't so much as seen Malfoy since the cup thank Merlin, but it's like every time he kisses me, or… you know, I just can't focus. All I can think about is that stupid Slytherin git. Please help. Also please take care of Moony, and yourself._

 _Love Prongslet._

Rosie put the quill down and sighed. It was almost time for defense, and she had to rush up to the owlery to send the letter. Otherwise, she'd have to include a part at the end about how the class went. Rose trusted Moony not to read Sirius' part of the letter, he was the most honest person she knew.

Mione had decided to come with her to the owlery, wanting to mail off an order for some new book that was coming out. The pair walked to class together afterwards and sat behind Ron and Dean. The class was with the Slytherins, and Rosie could feel Malfoy's presence behind her, but she didn't look.

From the moment that Professor Moody opened his mouth, Rosie hated him. He was foul and uncaring and cruel. The class began with an introduction, but it was short.

"My name is Alastor Moody. I have been an auror longer than you or you parents have been alive. I understand that you have received some… less that quality defense education as of the last few years, and I am here to change that. Let's begin. Name one thing you learned from Professor Quirrell?"

Dean raised his hand. Moody nodded in his direction. "He taught us mainly about the ethics of defense and when we should and shouldn't use defensive magic. It wasn't a very practical class."

"Exactly. Yes. Good. How about Professor Lockhart?"

The class went silent. Rosie froze. Nobody dared raise their hand, and several pairs of eyes turned around to linger on her. After a few moments, Hermione raised her hand slowly. When Moody called on her, her friend's voice rang through the tense room.

"He didn't teach us anything Sir."

Moody cleared his throat and spat on the floor. "I beg to differ Miss Granger. Gilderoy Lockhart taught you the importance of constant vigilance. The importance of trusting your bloody instincts instead of suppressing them."

Rose flinched. That felt like a slight against her for letting it go on for so long. Now everyone was staring. Hermione gripped her arm tightly and to Rosie's immense surprise, Ron slammed his hand down on the desk he shared with Dean.

"It wasn't her fault professor." He growled. She let out a soft squeak of discomfort, her face flushing. "Yeah, you shouldn't speak like that Sir." Dean added.

Moody just grumbled something and moved onto the next question. Rosie felt a pang a gratitude towards Ron and Dean. She hadn't been expecting that. "What did Snape teach you?"

A Slytherin girl answered from behind. "He taught us mainly shields."

Moody seemed to snort in displeasure. "And Lupin?"

Dean piped up from in front of them. "We learned about all sorts of dark creatures and how to defeat them."

Moody seemed more pleased with Moony than anyone else. Next, he moved onto lecturing about how he was the only wizard capable of teaching them, and how his method would prepare them for the real world. Apparently, preparing them for the real world would including making sure that they were sufficiently traumatized.

Moody said that he wanted to demonstrate to them the types of curses that they would be faced with in the event of an encounter with a dark witch or wizard. Butterflies fluttered in Rosie's stomach when the man transfigured three small spiders and contained them in a jar.

"We are going to be discussing unforgivable curses." He began. "But first, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are? "

Hermione raised her hand. "Three, sir. "

"And they are so named? "

"Because they are unforgivable. The use of any one of them will..."

"Earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct Miss Granger."

"Now, who can name one?" Moody prodded nastily.

Rosie shivered as Malfoy's voice rung through the room. "The Imperius Curse."

"Yes… good. You would be familiar with that one Mr. Malfoy."

Ron sniggered and Rosie sighed. Lucius Malfoy, she knew, had used the excuse of the Imperius Curse to get out of jail time when he was brought to trial after the first war. She knew now that he had been lying. Then, Moody did something shocking. He lifted his wand and levitated one of the spiders out of the jar, placing it in front of himself on the desk and enlarged it. Then, he cast,

"Imperio!"

Rosie's breath caught as the spider stilled. The professor made it do a dance and several people laughed, but she didn't. That could be a person. There was nothing funny about messing with people's minds in her opinion. When Moody moved onto the Cruciatus Curse, Rose was already feeling sick as she predicted what he was about to do. The next spider writhed in front of the class, which had stopped laughing. She couldn't watch, turning her head into Hermione's shoulder.

"Who knows the last one?" Moody asked again. His voice was oddly manic.

Rosie shivered, moving her gaze to the front of the classroom once again.

"The Killing Curse." Some unknown Slytherin from the back piped up.

"Yes. The Killing Curse. Disconnects the soul from the body. The only result is death. There are no counter curses, and no shield strong enough to protect against it. In fact, there is only one known survivor, and she is sitting right here in this room."

Once again, all eyes were on her and Rosie tried to move her hair so if covered her scar. She didn't want everyone focusing so intently on her face. Then, without so much as a warning, Moody turned to the spider and cast,

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light burst from his wand, and Rosie recoiled. She let out an involuntary shriek. The spider was dead, instantly, but Rose wasn't in the classroom anymore. She was in her nursery, in the crib as she watched her mother's body fall to the floor. Her scar ached with the memory of the blinding green light being turned onto her.

Unfortunately, Rosie's shriek had been audible, and if there had been anyone who wasn't looking at her, that had changed. Hermione kept her hand pressed against Rose's back in support. Moody was just watching her, not reacting, not offering to shut the hell up or moving on with the lesson. Oh, she despised him. When he finally dismissed them, Rosie was trembling.

She could feel the tension building within her system, and although she hadn't had an uncontrolled outburst in a while, she felt like she might have one now.

Hermione had called after her, but Rose had taken off quickly and had rushed towards the dungeons, not even bothering to knock as she entered the potion's office. Severus was, as usual, just sitting at his desk reading. If she had been feeling better, she might have thought to tease him for being an insufferable nerd.

He looked up to meet her gaze when Rose entered and he could tell right away that she wasn't well, motioning to the couch. Rosie sat down, wringing her hands together and he moved to sit in front of her.

"What happened?" The potions master demanded.

"I hate him! I HATE him so much!" Rose lost it. Her hand slammed onto the fabric of the couch and the pictures on the walls shook, the desk rocking backwards. Severus reached forward and held her still, trapping her wrists lightly in his hands.

"Child. Calm yourself. Take control of your emotions. Occlude."

Rosie tried. She tried to clear her mind, tried to build the walls around the memory of the defense class and shut it away. When her body had stopped trembling and the room had stopped shaking, Severus spoke again.

"Who is it that has earned your hatred?" He asked.

"Professor Moody!" Rosie sighed in frustration. "He's so mean. He's worse than you were. He brought up stupid Lockhart and lectured the whole class on trusting your instincts, and everyone was staring at me, and then he showed us the unforgivable curses and it scared me and…" Everything spilled out at once.

"There there." Severus place a hand on her back. "Be calm Rose. You are safe."

"I should've come to you sooner. I shouldn't have waited so long. I should've…"

"There is no room in your life for should haves Rose. What's done is done, and you cannot place any semblance of blame on yourself. You were twelve years old."

"I… know, but Moody said…"

"I do not care what that ridiculous excuse for an auror has told you."

Rosie nodded and leaned her head into his chest. They were silent for a few minutes, and then she spoke again, her voice stronger.

"Severus… what does it feel like to cast an unforgivable curse?" She looked up at him.

Her professor froze. Rosie thought he might have stopped breathing. "Which one?" He asked, his tone wary.

"I don't know…which ones have you cast?"

Her guardian let out his breath. Rose knew that he didn't want to tell her.

"All of them?" She asked again, her voice smaller now.

Severus nodded and her stomach lurched. "Are they hard to cast?"

"Immensely." He responded. "Not everyone can manage it. For example, if you were to stand up and cast the Killing Curse at me right now, I doubt I would end with so much as a nosebleed."

"Why?"

"The… intent has to be present. In the case of the Cruciatus Curse, the castor must be in the possession of intense hatred for the victim. This is the same for the Killing Curse. I do not believe that you possess this ability."

Rosie shuddered as her mind called forth images of Severus' face etched in hatred casting the unforgivables.

"So… Voldemort loathed me so much that he was able to cast the Killing Curse on me? How can you hate a baby?"

Severus winced at the use of Voldemort's name and then sighed. "The Dark Lord no longer needed to hate an individual specifically in order to cast the unforgivables. He was able to draw from a store of it as he was not capable of many other emotions."

"Did… erm, the Dark Lord ever cast any of them on you?"

"I was not under the Imperius Curse if that is what you are asking. Anything I did was of my own free will."

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, did he cast the torture one on you? The Cruciatus." She clarified. Rosie knew he had joined on his own.

"Many a time." Severus seemed to shiver as he spoke.

"Is it really horrible?"

"Indeed. It is… excruciating."

"I couldn't look when Moody was doing it to the spider." Rose admitted weakly. Severus pulled her closer in an uncharacteristic display of affection and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Stay this way child." He exhaled. "Never let it become easy to look."


	61. Chapter 61

_Dearest Rosie,_

 _I am missing you terribly as well. The house is too quiet without you around. In fact, I am thinking of looking for a job in the village. I'm trying to think of an activity for Sirius to do so that he feels more productive. If you have any ideas let me know. We both know that a job is not in his near future. I'm sorry that you don't like potions, but I'm sure that Severus doesn't mean to make you feel bad, why don't you talk to him about it? It is true that your mother excelled in potions and your father in transfiguration, but I am one hundred percent certain that you are their daughter, no hospital mix ups. You are allowed to be your own person. I might wager a guess that your struggle with school subjects might be due to the difficulties that you've faced in the past couple years and has no bearing on your true talent. I have included below a list of fields in which arithmancy is useful._

 _As for your friends, I hope you are trying to tolerate them. It is important to keep your friends close, even if they do ask you about sex. Just remember, they are only curious. You would not believe the things that your father and Sirius have told me over the years. I'm glad that Cedric is well. You know, James was the head boy in our year. As it stands, I do not think the Oedipus complex applies to brothers; however, it may stem from a similar desire for protection from one's partner that can come from a father, or perhaps an older brother as well._

 _I have allowed Sirius to answer your question about Moody as he knows him better than I, having been an auror. They worked together for a time. I wish I could make it easier on you, with your classmates and professors, but just know that in time it will die down and things will go on as normal. For now, stay strong princess._

 _PS- Please do not try and enter the Triwizard Tournament. I would rather like to keep my sanity this year._

 _All my love,_

 _Moony._

Rosie smiled as she read through Moony's well-crafted letter, but she felt the familiar ache in her chest, the anxiety that came from being far away from someone you love. In the same envelope as Moony's letter came a shorter one addressed from Sirius.

 _Prongslet, that really blows about quidditch. You'd think they'd do both, but don't worry, we can go flying over the holidays if you want. Listen honey, about your question… All I really have to say is that you, sweet, caring, perfect Rosie, are not cut out for this infidelity thing. I'm not judging you, I just think that maybe you're in over your head._

 _I don't know what it is about that wretched Malfoy kid that makes you go after him and I probably don't wanna know, but you have got to decide. Do you want to be with Diggory, or do you want to keep chasing after the death eater spawn? The guilt is eating at you because you're not an asshole. The longer you drag this out the worse you're gonna feel, so try to decide quick. Either way, you know I don't give a shit what you do to any of your dickhead boyfriends, I love you anyways. We sure miss you around here._

 _PS- Stay away from Moody. He's not dark or anything but he's a lunatic. Don't take what he says to heart._

 _Sirius._

Rosie closed her eyes. Deep down she knew that Sirius was right, but she didn't know what to do to end this. It wasn't like she was meeting Malfoy all the time, it was random. She didn't even know if it would ever happen again. Her thoughts were interrupted by Cedric who came walking happily towards her… with Meadow. Quickly tucking the letter away, she moved to welcome him.

"Rose! I have a surprise." The boy started, smiling.

She tried to smile back, raising an eyebrow and greeting him with a chaste kiss. "What is it?"

"Well… you know I turned seventeen this summer…"

Rosie nodded, puzzled. Meadow seemed to be squirming with excitement. She wanted to put the blonde girl in a body bind. The boy seemed to glow as he spoke. "I'm going to enter the Triwizard Tournament!" He exclaimed, grabbing Rosie by the shoulders and beaming down at her. She stiffened.

Her eyes widened. "You're what?" Rose hissed. Visions of Cedric dead on the ground from some sort of horrible attack littered her mind as she recoiled.

"I said, I'm…"

"I heard you." She snapped. "You have got to be kidding Ced. You're gonna get yourself hurt." Rosie tried to stay calm, her face contorting with anxiety.

Her boyfriend's face fell. "Rose… I thought you'd be excited for me." He tried softly.

"Excited? God Ced, you… why would you want to put yourself in danger like that on purpose?"

Much to Rosie's chagrin, the irritating patronus girl piped up from behind him. "You know, it will be a heavily supervised event. I'm sure they won't let any harm actually come to the champions." She condescended. Rose glared.

"Well. I'm sorry for wanting my boyfriend ALIVE this year." Her voice rose an octave, her tone pinched. Cedric was wearing a hurt puppy looked that rivalled Sirius' and Rosie could not take it. She was not going to stand here and agree that he should enter into a stupid competition where his life may be in danger. Maybe she was selfish, but Rose didn't care. Huffing loudly, she spun on her heels and moved to leave, but Ced caught her arm from behind.

"Rose. Wait. Can we just talk about this?" He asked.

Rosie sighed, but allowed him to drag her away, leaving the blasted head girl behind in the great hall. At least she could be thankful for that. He pulled her into a broom closet and frowned.

"Rose, I don't know if it's that your worried for me, or you're scared I'll get hurt, but I promise I'll be careful I just… really want to enjoy these next two years. You know, when I graduate my dad is gonna line me up some stuffy old ministry job and I'm gonna be stuck at a desk all day every day."

She exhaled long and low. "Oh Ced, I don't want to kill your fun… I…ugh. Just promise me you'll be careful." Rosie 's heart sank. She'd lost this one.

"You know I will." He replied. "I'm not a Gryffindor." His tone was teasing.

Scoffing lightly, Rose tried to plaster a small smile on her face. Cedric seemed to take that as a sign that she was happy now, which she wasn't, but he moved forward anyways, trapping her in a kiss. It was obvious what he wanted, and honestly, Rosie did not want to have sex. Not in general, and definitely not to celebrate her boyfriend's induction into a dangerous game.

The problem was that Rose didn't know how to say no in that moment. So, she didn't say anything. It was clear that Ced needed this to feel better, and she didn't want to cause any more tension than there already was. So, she let him. She shut her eyes and tried not to tense her body up too much as he entered her. Rosie wasn't into it and it hurt as she tried to stretch to accommodate him, straining to imagine that she was elsewhere.

This was the first time that she'd done this… and it did not feel good. She felt like she was lying to the boy, and she felt like her body, or perhaps it was her mind would be upset with her later. Rose cursed herself for not knowing how to diffuse the situation without making Cedric upset. This is why she needed a mom.

When he was done, Rosie sighed with relief. She pulled him into a long hug so that she had time to relax her face, and then pulled away, fixing her uniform skirt.

"You're so gorgeous Rose." Ced began, caressing her cheek, but she didn't feel gorgeous. He took her chin lightly in his fingertips and brought his face close.

"I'll be careful. I promise."

Rosie nodded and then made an excuse, leaving him behind in the broom closet. He did not deserve this. She wasn't sure where she was going but she ended up in the dungeons. She'd probably been gravitating towards Severus' office, but Rose changed her mind and doubled back.

He wouldn't be happy with her. Just as she had turned to leave, Rosie felt a hand come down to clamp on her shoulder. Whirling around, her breath hitched as she came face to face with Goyle, who towered over her. Crabbe flanked him, but Malfoy was nowhere in sight.

"Hey Potter, down here practicing your constant vigilance?" He started.

"Yeah, what are your instincts telling you now?" Crabbe added crudely.

"Get out of my way." Rosie tried to raise her voice and move forward.

"Fine we'll leave, just tell us what it was like… fucking your professor that is."

Rosie was just about to take off for Severus' office again to escape but another voice interjected.

"Leave this one to me Goyle." Malfoy moved forward. The two bigger boys grunted and backed off her. "Go tell Pansy I'll be late." He ordered, and Crabbe and Goyle scampered off.

"Potter."

"Malfoy."

"What are you doing down here?"

"Nothing. Thanks for that." She grimaced, nodding towards where the two oafs had left from.

"Yeah, they get a bit overzealous." He offered awkwardly.

This was the most civil conversation they'd ever had. Malfoy hadn't cursed once. It obviously couldn't last. The boy began to move closer, his face falling into the same predatory look as the night in the woods. His fingers came up to clasp around her wrists and before Rosie could even blink, he had her pressed against the wall of the now empty corridor. When his hands moved to her body, she stilled.

"Malfoy, don't." Rose could almost feel the fear flood her face.

The boy appraised her expression for a moment and then let go. "Relax Potter, I'm not going to force you."

Rosie sighed and let her head fall. "Thanks."

"Thanks?" He scoffed. "You are messed up."

She glared at him. "I can't keep doing this Malfoy. I can't do this to Cedric, he doesn't deserve it."

The boy shrugged. "You started it."

"I know, but I was drunk off my rocker and scared and selfish and you were there."

"And at the cup?"

"Fuck Malfoy. You just, urgh. You're so frustrating. What do you even want from me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I get it, you want sex, but I can't be doing this. Ced would be devastated."

"I told you. Nobody will find out." Malfoy growled, pushing her back up against the wall, hands on her waist.

"You've got some serious control issues Malfoy."

"Says the girl who gets her rocks off being held down."

"Screw you. It's because you're scared shitless of your daddy isn't it?"

"Least I don't want to fuck mine." He retorted.

Rosie let out a hysterical laugh. "You're such a jackass."

A smirk broke out across the boy's face. "Yeah well you're not as sweet as everyone thinks you are Potter."

"And maybe you're not as callous as you come across." She pushed his chest, and he stepped off her. "I'm still not sleeping with you anymore."

"Fine, run back to your Hufflepuff, but when you need to get off, I'll be here." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Rosie shook her head, and turned around, "Get bent Malfoy." The boy reached forward and pinched her side from behind just as Severus turned the corner into that same corridor. Rose, who hadn't noticed, slapped his hand away and snarled.

Her guardian, in full Professor Snape mode, raised an eyebrow at the interaction. "Mr. Malfoy. Detention."

Rosie wanted to laugh, but she stifled it. "Professor Snape Sir, It's fine. Malfoy didn't do anything. Promise." She said, her eyes flashing with mirth.

A strange look crossed his face, and he stared at Malfoy. "Tomorrow night, seven o'clock."

The Slytherin boy just put his hands up in surrender. "Yes Sir."

Malfoy walked away after that, leaving her and Severus alone in the hall. Rosie had to admit, the interaction between her and the Slytherin boy had made her feel better after what had happened with Cedric. The potions master did not seem impressed.

"What did I just witness?" He asked coldly.

"Severus, it was nothing, honest. He was just being a git as usual, I dealt it out just as bad. You just didn't come around the corner for that."

"Stay away from Draco Malfoy. He'll only try to bait you child."

"I know Sir. I will." She promised.

"Why are you skulking around down here?"

"Oh, I was looking for you. I just needed a hug."

"You needed a hug?"

Rosie nodded, moving forward and wrapping her arms around Severus' torso tightly. He allowed her to and held her to him. That helped. She was already feeling a lot calmer. Rose loved Severus.

As hard as she tried, Rosie just couldn't put her anxiety aside when it came to Cedric and the tournament. It wasn't even a given that he'd be picked, there were a handful of students who'd decided to put their names in, but she was still a wreck. Dread had curled around her like the chill of a dementor that day that the prospective champions from the other schools had arrived.

It was quite the affair, and Ced was glowing with excitement, so she had had to pretend, but really, the only positive thing to come out of the foreign arrivals had been the chance to ogle Viktor Krum up close. When the goblet was placed in the center of the great hall for the first time, Rose accompanied Ced as he bypassed the age line with ease and tossed his name in.

That had been it. It was done.

Things began to get a bit better after that, once it was final. Rosie could no longer change the boy's mind, so she just had to come to terms with the idea. It made it easier in the end to be more optimistic. She was finally able to have sex with him again. They'd taken a long break from that after the incident in the broom closet. Rose never told Ced that she hadn't wanted to, but he could tell that something was up.

Malfoy had made himself scarce. They hadn't spoken since their last conversation, and it was starting to feel as though it had all been a dream.

Moony had written to say that he'd found a job in a supermarket in the muggle village near his flat. Rosie had been happy to hear that, but sad at the same time, wishing that her guardian could be seen for his talents, and could be accepted in a magical company.

He'd still been unable to convince Sirius to take up a hobby. Halloween approached quickly, and as the decorations began to go up, and the air became cooler, the chill lingered under her skin. Something big was coming. She just didn't quite know yet what it was.


	62. Chapter 62

Rosie was irate. "Severus. Please. You have to let me see him. I NEED to speak with him."

"Rose. Surely, the matter is not so urgent that a letter would not suffice."

"Pleeeease." She whined. "I'm begging you. It's an emergency."

"If there is indeed an emergency, I am sure that your intent would not be to withhold it from me girl."

"No, urgh. Severus it's not that type of emergency. Just, please. For me." Rosie stared up at him pleadingly, using her Lily eyes as a weapon.

She knew it was working because the potions master had to close his own eyes, the 'dead parents' expression washing over him. "You have half an hour." He sighed. "Do not test me."

"Oh Severus, you're the best."

With her permission granted, Rose took a handful of the chalky powder and tossed it into the flames, heading for Moony's flat. However, she knew that Moony was working. Rosie was looking for Sirius. Padfoot was sound asleep on the couch in the middle of the sitting room despite the fact that they were already late into afternoon. Her favorite dog jolted awake when she landed gracelessly, as usual on the floor in front of him. He quickly transformed.

"Prongslet? What are you doing here?" He questioned, a smile breaking out over his face. Sirius offered out a hand to help her up. The smiled died on his lips when he took in her expression of discontent. "Is everything ok?"

"Siri. Thank goodness you're here. I need your help, but I only have half an hour to explain or Severus is going to kill me."

"You need my help? Are you sure you don't want me to go track down Remus? The store's not that far from here…"

"No! … please, you have to keep it a secret. You can't tell Moony."

He frowned. "Is it one of your erm, boyfriends? Did something happen?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that… I need you to do something for me, and it's something really serious, and you're not gonna want to do it but I need you to." Her voice broke.

Sirius' eyes widened in horror as a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks. "Rosie, honey, please don't cry. What's going on? You can tell me." The man put his hand on her arm, leaning down so that his eyes met hers.

"Ineedyoutoteachmetoresisttheimperiuscurse." She said all at once and his brows furrowed.

"Woah woah woah. You've gotta speak slower than that sweetheart."

Rosie groaned, her face flushing.

"Hey, I'm not gonna bite you." Sirius reassured smoothly. "Whatever you need, tell me."

"I need you… to teach me to fight off the Imperius Curse." Rosie tried again.

His face flickered in surprise. "What?"

"I need you to like… cast the curse on me until I learn to resist."

Siri cringed. "Honey, no way. Not that. No. I could never...Not to you."

He faltered when her face crumpled. "Siri, please. I… can't risk it, I can't, I don't want anyone messing with my mind, not again. You have to help me. Severus would never agree, and I doubt Moony even could cast it. I know that the aurors were given special permission during the war to use the unforgivables, so you must know how. It has to be you."

"Yeah, Rose, I can cast it, but where did this fear come from all of a sudden? Who are you so afraid of?"

"It's Moody." She cried. "He's been casting it on us in class, showing us what it feels like, and I can't fight it. I can't. I just do whatever he says."

"He cast the Imperius Curse on you?" Sirius clarified, disbelief evident in his tone. She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.

"It feels so wrong… it feels like, before, you know, with the memory charms."

The man pursed his lips into a thin line, his brows knitting together like what she'd said had made him uncomfortable.

"Sirius, you have to help me. We all know that Voldemort's gonna come back, and I can't let him… or anyone have that kind of power over me. Please do this."

Her ex-godfather sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, the stress that she was causing him apparent. After a moment of tense silence, Siri gave her an answer.

"You know I can't bloody refuse you."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Rosie's body sagged in relief. Her arms wrapping around the man's neck. Sirius, who always took full advantage of any opportunity to hug her, allowed Rose to express her gratitude. He ran a hand through her hair affectionately.

"Rose, you know that most adults can't throw off the curse right? I sure as hell can't."

"I have to try." She sighed into his shoulder and he nodded.

"I wish I didn't have to go." Rosie breathed, "but Severus didn't even want to give me half and hour."

"I know, it really sucks without you here, but it's gonna be such a good Christmas Rosie, you'll see." He smiled. "That's all Remus talks about."

"Maybe could you… not tell Moony I was here? I don't want him to be upset that he wasn't."

"Of course. Our secret Prongslet. Just… let me know when and where for the lessons." He added, frowning again. She could tell that he really did not want to do this.

Returning to the fire, she shot Sirius one last grin and stepped inside. Severus was still in his office. He looked up when Rose entered and cocked an eyebrow.

"Did you resolve the emergency?" He drawled.

"Yes sir."

"I trust that you are…well?"

"Don't worry Severus, it's nothing. I just needed a favor from Sirius."

"I do not like the sounds of that."

"You don`t like anything." Rosie countered, putting her hand briefly on his back where he sat and winking.

"Are you going to the feast tonight Severus?"

"It is required of me."

"I hate Halloween. Especially this one. I hate this stupid tournament, and I hate that stupid Cedric wants to put himself in stupid danger for fun.

"You could always… break up with him." The potions master smirked.

Rosie glared. "You're just lucky I'm with Ced and not chasing after Viktor Krum like every other girl at Hogwarts."

Severus made a face. "Indeed. The very idea of that is abhorrent."

The potions master scowled at his charge. She had gotten into the habit lately of initiating a playful banter designed to irritate him. Her sarcasm and wit had sharpened immensely over the summer. Rose now held herself with a bit more confidence than she had before.

Severus attributed it to the trial, and perhaps the exposure to marauders. The girl was still fragile… small, but she was growing up. Her maturation however, seemed to have the opposite effect on her ability to make sane decisions.

Unfortunately, the girl had had better self-preservation instincts at age twelve. It was apparent that he was going to go grey within the next few years trying to protect her, and that wasn't even taking into account the possibility of the Dark Lord's return. Now that she was more or less stable, there were hordes of these boys, horrible, male students with lewd desires lusting after the child. It was difficult enough to tolerate Diggory.

Just the other week Severus had found her alone in a hallway, laughing of all things, with Draco Malfoy. Merlin forbid _that_ ever develop into anything. He'd given the boy detention just for that reason. A few months previous had been the bruising on her arms.

She had practically admitted to him that she'd been lying about its origin. It had taken all that Severus had not to open her mind in that instant and rip the memories from her skull so that he could murder whoever had the audacity to take hold of her like that.

However, it was starting to seem inappropriate to invade Rose's thoughts without permission. In the beginning, it had been a way for her to communicate with him without speaking, but now, it felt like a violation of her privacy. Severus did not think that she needed to have any more of her private thoughts exposed, even to him. His new attitude towards Rose and legilimency certainly did complicate things.

When the girl had left his office, Severus tried to erase the thoughts from his head of whatever favor she could have needed so urgently from Black. Her relationship with the mutt was odd. With the werewolf, she was positively enamored.

Rose had idolized Lupin from the moment she'd set eyes on him. This was no secret, in fact Severus wagered a guess that had she been permitted, the girl would have been perfectly comfortable spending the full moons with the fully transformed beast.

Black was different.

Though it made him uncomfortable to admit it, Severus knew that Rose fanciest himself a father figure. She did not hesitate to make that known. It was very similar with Lupin. However, Rose would insist until she was blue in the face that Black was not her father, not her godfather, not her anything.

It was difficult to discern what kind of role he played in her life. They fought so often, and so viciously that it was hard not to believe her, but then she did things like today.

He was sure that she hadn't even made it known to the wolf that she had been home. Otherwise, Severus knew that he would have had to leave and collect her himself. She would not have been able to pry herself away after only half an hour. Rose obviously shared some sort of connection with the foulest marauder if they kept secrets so private that even Lupin was not privy.

Cutting Black out of his thoughts, Severus continued marking the dismal papers turned in by the advanced potions class. He resisted the urge to scrawl a large 'T' for 'Troll' on Diggory's parchment purely out of spite, and moved on.

At the Halloween feast that evening. Severus observed Rose, who was seated at the Gryffindor table with the Weasley girl, but was glaring forward towards Hufflepuff. Following her gaze, the potions master found her eyes to be resting on Diggory… who was seated with Meadow Chapman, the head girl.

He could not tell if she was cross with the boy for entering the tournament, or jealous that the other girl sat with her hand resting on Diggory's shoulder, paying rapt attention to whatever he was saying. Perhaps both. Either way, the glare reminded him strikingly of his own.

When it was time for the insufferable goblet ordeal to begin, Severus had the beginnings of a headache. The girl was now biting her fingernails and staring at the floor. The youngest Weasley had her head resting on Rose's shoulder.

Albus stood at the front of the hall, eyes twinkling madly as he waited for the goblet to spit out a name. Viktor Krum was chosen first, for Durmstrang. That was no surprise. Nor was Fleur Delacour. When Cedric Diggory was elected for Hogwarts, Severus saw Rose's body slump, presumably with anxiety.

His chest tightened at her discontent. Her reaction only lasted a moment. The girl, pulling strength from somewhere, stood up and clapped along with the other students, plastering a smile on her face and making eyes at her ungrateful, unworthy boyfriend.

The great hall had just begun to settle down, the students returning to their seats, when unexpectedly, the goblet spit forth another piece of paper. Albus caught it, and his expression held. The tension was palpable as the hall waited with bated breath. Finally, the headmaster cleared his throat and spoke,

"Rose Potter."

Severus froze. There was a collective gasp. His hands gripped the table, knuckles turning white. Rose. Her eyes were wide, as she looked towards the headmaster, expression full of apprehension. When Albus did not give her anything to go off of, the child moved her gaze onto him.

That was Severus' cue. He stood up, keening his head to the side to motion for her to follow the other champions. Rose's face contorted in panic, and the Weasley girl nudged her to her feet. The potions master wanted to do a lot of things in that moment, alarms sounding in his mind, but instead, he occluded.

Surely there had been a mistake.

Taking a few moments to collect himself, Severus entered the backroom where the champions were being stored. Rose was obviously distressed, her tone was shrill and she was directing her anger towards the Hufflepuff dunderhead.

"You are an imbecile if you think for a second that I would put my own name in this bloody death game!"

"What's your explanation then Rose? Seriously, I thought you'd gotten over this… and all this time you were just jealous. How could you? You knew this was important to me."

The girl recoiled as if she'd been slapped. "How could I? How could you… you jerk! I begged you not to get involved with this stupid competition. I would _never_ have entered." She spat. "I'm shit at magic!"

"I don't know what to think Rose! God, this is too much."

"Too much for you? Are you joking? I'm fucking fourteen Ced, I couldn't duel myself out of a paper bag!"

All eyes were focused on the fight that had broken out between them. Rose was beginning to become too agitated, and Severus noted that the portraits on the walls were shaking. He came up from behind, placing a hand on her shoulder firmly.

"I think that this conversation can be had another time." He guided her. "Diggory. Leave."

The boy looked like he was going to try and defy him… Severus deepened the glare, and Rose's boyfriend faltered. He retreated then, shooting the child a pitying look. She exhaled loudly, falling back into him, and bringing her hands up to cover her face, hiding her tears of frustration.

"I am going to assume that Miss Potter did not enter into the tournament willingly." Minerva commented from her spot next to Albus.

"It would appear that way." Albus concurred.

By the time that the discussions had been had, Severus was shaking with fury. There was no way to retract her from the tournament without the forfeit of her magic, and Severus was not handling it very well. He knew what these competitions were like, and Rose… his Rose, basically the entire reason for his continued existence, had not had enough time to heal.

She was still so behind with spell work. She was too fragile for this. Her control was not even close to where it needed to be. It didn't help that the girl was beside herself with fear. Her face was devoid of Potter arrogance. Rose was a child who was quite in touch with her own faults and limitations. She had withdrawn inward after Diggory had left, clinging to him like a little girl.

He'd retrieved her a dreamless sleep potion from his stores and sent her to bed in his chambers.

Severus busied himself brewing until he felt it safe to assume that the headmaster would be alone. Albus had only reiterated the same garbage in private that he'd spewed to the other headmasters. Rose had to compete.

He'd apologized, and promised that Rose would receive extra help and training, but confessed that the matter was out of his hands. Furious, but resigned, Severus descended the stairs, passing through the halls silently.

He was just about to turn into the corridor which would lead him back down to the dungeons, when he heard the hideously familiar sound of students fornicating in a nearby broom closet.

Severus, who, in his first year as a professor, had made the unfortunate mistake of opening the door on two of his students nude and entangled with one and other, rapped on the door.

"Show yourselves." He drawled. Lighting the hall with his wand.

From inside, he could hear the male partner curse audibly and groan. What happened next incited almost the same amount of rage in him that Rose's forced inscription in the tournament had. Meadow Chapman came stumbling out of the broom closet, her hair in disarray and her skirt on backwards followed closely by none other than Cedric Diggory. Oh, this night could not get any worse.

The idiot boy stared at him with an expression of pure dread. "P…professor Snape sir…" He began but Severus cut him off.

"Twenty points from Hufflepuff." Was all that he said, turning on his heels, and stalking off towards the stairs. He needed a drink.


	63. Chapter 63

When Rosie awoke the next morning, she was in Severus' bed. She always knew that something bad had happen when she woke up in her guardian's bed like this. Then she remembered. The tournament.

Somebody had entered her in the Triwizard Tournament and the goblet had picked her. Rose groaned loudly, remembering the fight she'd had with Ced. Why did it always have to be one thing after another? Of course, this would happen, why not? It was as if fate was looking down on her, laughing, asking, what more can we do to ruin the life of Rose Potter?

Still in her pajamas, dark hair loose and hanging down, Rosie crawled out of the bed and went into the small kitchen and sitting room unit. There was Severus. Her favorite breakfast was laid out and placed under a heating charm, next to a mug of tea with her name on it. He looked up when she entered. If Rose had not been mistaken, she swore she saw the man cringe.

"Severus. When I die, please keep brewing Moony the wolfsbane." She requested.

The potions master growled and slammed his hand down on the table. "You are not going to die."

Rosie flinched, and then she frowned. "I'm serious… please. That's all I ask."

"Enough. I will not have you going around with this attitude."

"Gosh, Severus, I'm just being realistic. I can cast a mean heating charm and I'm pretty good at exploding things with my mind, but that's about the extent of my magical ability…Oh and the contraceptive charm, at least, I hope I cast that right."

"That is why you will be trained, extensively." Severus snarled, glaring at her.

"By who?" She asked, brows furrowing.

"Your wolf and Black are coming by to discuss that with you."

"Hmm… it won't be you then. That's a shame. It would probably be good for me to learn how to fight like a death eater." She drawled, poking his shoulder.

Severus balked.

"I'm just teasing. I'm not gonna have many more chances. First task is in a month."

"I told you already. You are not going to die."

Rosie knew she was toeing the line now, so she pulled back. He was getting agitated and she didn't want him to ignore her all day. Rose needed company right now.

"At least without a boyfriend I'll have more time to study." Rosie sighed bleakly.

"You do not wish to resolve things with Diggory?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I mean… obviously, yeah, but he didn't believe me. I don't even know if he'll want to."

Severus seemed to let out a breath. Rosie sat down at the table and rested her chin in her hands.

"Sometimes… he can be so sweet, but I don't know if it's real or fake because he can turn on me so fast."

"How so?" Her guardian questioned cautiously.

"I mean, one minute he says he loves me and the next he leaves me alone and vulnerable at a party. If Malfoy hadn't found me, I don't even know how I would've gotten home. I feel like it's a bad sign when that git cared more about my safety than my own boyfriend."

Severus glowered at the memory.

"And… he believed his dad right away when Amos accused me of trying to trap him… Now this."

Rosie could tell that the dour man was trying to refrain from commenting.

"You know, sometimes he can be so attentive to my needs, making sure I'm alright and stuff… but then other times he just, doesn't seem to notice or care." She remembered vividly the uncomfortable broom closest encounter.

Severus spoke then, his tone surprisingly gentle. "That does not sound like love child."

"But Ced…he stayed with me Severus… through the trial. He never once said anything mean about all that."

He sighed loudly. "No decent person would Rose. That does not make him good for you."

"You don't like him, do you? Is it because he reminds you of James?"

The potions master closed his eyes. "Rose, there is something that I must tell you, but I do not wish to, as I fear it will only add to your current despair."

"What is it Severus?" Her voice was small.

"Last night, when I was returning from the headmaster's office, I had the great misfortune of encountering Mr. Diggory in a rather precarious position with the head girl…" He began.

Rosie's mouth dropped open. Her heart stopped and her stomach sank. "A precarious position? You mean, they were…"

He nodded.

Her eyes stung, the betrayal seeping through her veins like boiling water.

"I knew it." She sighed, allowing a tear to fall. "I knew I was pushing him away… but…"

Severus did not seem to know what to do.

"Fuck." Rosie cursed, trying to mop up her tears with her pajama sleeve. "Of course, he wanted her. She's perfect. She's everything… everything I'm not."

"Do. Not. Say. That." He spat, eyes blazing. "You did not make this happen. If anything, it is you who deserves better child."

"You're wrong. I deserve exactly this. I deserve this feeling. Fuck." She let her head fall into her hands.

"Enlighten me. What on earth could you have done to warrant this Rose?" Severus prodded. He could be so sweet sometimes.

"You don't understand Severus."

"Then elaborate."

"I asked for this… This is one hundred percent karma telling me to go fuck myself." Rosie sobbed.

Her guardian seemed almost startled by her reaction.

"Rose. Surely you cannot be this self-deprecating."

"Don't you see? I cheated on him first Severus! I was with someone else. I… urgh."

His face contorted in surprise. "You… partook in sexual activity with another person outside of your _relationship_ with Diggory?"

She nodded.

Severus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples roughly. "Did you tell Diggory this?"

"No… only Sirius."

"Of course you did." His voice was tired.

"Oh, I am such an idiot." She groaned, tugging at her hair.

"Child…" He reached out his hand towards her, but Rosie pushed herself back from the table abruptly, stalking into Severus' room and slamming the door. She changed into the spare clothes that she kept there and found herself once again in the sitting room.

Her guardian had not moved from the table. Rose bypassed him without a second glance and walked out the door into the potion's office, and then into the corridor.

The first thing that Rosie did was go up to Gryffindor tower. She snuck into her dorm, bypassing the stragglers in the common room and began to rummage through her clothes. It wasn't often that Rose used her looks as a weapon. On the contrary, when she wasn't in her uniform, she could usually be found in the same style sweatshirt and tights every day, modest and simple.

However, in that moment, she wanted him to see what the he was missing out on. That and she had to take control of the story. Rose had to be the one to set the tone of their impending breakup so that people didn't turn against her. She was already in everyone's bad books over this whole tournament ordeal. Reasonably, Rosie knew that she had no right to be angry, no right to do this, but she didn't care.

He hadn't even known about Malfoy and he still did this. It bloody hurt. She changed into a pretty green top that was tight across her chest and arms, pairing it with some of her more flattering black jeans. Leaving her hair long, she smoothed it out, and painted her eyes and lips subtly, as Lavender and Parvati had taught her to do.

When Rose was done, she looked great and she knew it. Mustering up all the confidence left in her system, she went off in search of Cedric. It was not difficult to find him. The boy was loitering around the entrance to the great hall with some of his friends, but there was a large student population around them in all directions. Perfect.

Cedric's eyes widened as he caught sight of her, his eyes sweeping up her body, and then his face contorting painfully when he met her eyes. Rosie channeled her inner Slytherin and stuck out her bottom lip, allowing it to quiver as she stared up at him with doe eyes.

"How could you?" Rose started, making sure her voice broke on cue. She remembered Moony's face as he motioned for her to cry at the trial.

The boy's face flushed red and he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"How could you be with her? How could you do that?" She sniffed. The tears were false, but the pain in her voice was real. His friends turned to stare at him, and then back at Rosie.

"Mate, what did you do?" One of them asked.

"Rose…" He started. "Please, I'm so sorry. I thought that you had entered the tournament on purpose… Dumbledore, he explained everything to me this morning…"

"So, the first thing you did was find the nearest girl and…" She trailed off, clutching at her chest dramatically.

"Dude, you cheated on Rose Potter?" Another friend nudged him.

Cedric was now the color of a ripe tomato, his expression etched in shame. Rosie felt guilty at that point. She was just as much at fault as he was, he just didn't know it. She couldn't stop picturing him… with her, making her cry out his name. The mental image was sickening.

Rose turned around when she heard a soft and familiar voice purr from behind them.

"Diggory." Malfoy taunted. "Looks like you really fucked this one up." A smirk broke out across the Slytherin boy's face.

"Why is it that I am always the one who has to clean up your mess?" He winked provokingly, placing a hand on Rosie's hip, and trailing it up her stomach, until his fingers were resting just below her breast.

Cedric's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, staring at Malfoy`s hand placement. Rose did not know what possessed her in that moment to do what she did, but she leaned into the horrible boy's touch, burrowing her face in his shoulder and letting out another sob, which she was not quite sure was false.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'm going to be the one comforting your girlfriend here." Rosie could almost feel Malfoy's face twist into a sadistic sneer.

Ced was staring at her in disbelief. "Rose. Don't tell me you're actually gonna go off with… _him._ " He pointed at the blond boy.

"I… I never thought you would…Oh Ced, why?" She stuttered. The emotion had taken over now and Rosie wasn't even acting. Why did she do these things to herself? Now she was in a public situation making a scene and she was starting to actually lose control.

Malfoy seemed to sense that she wasn't playing anymore, shooting Cedric one last smug smile, and leading her out of the entrance hall. They walked in silence for a moment, until they were alone and then Malfoy turned to her.

"Potter. I can't tell if you're actually upset."

"No, I'm fucking overjoyed." She sobbed again.

"Diggory was playing around behind your back then… man, I wouldn't have thought he had it in'em, Hufflepuff loyalty and all."

Rosie growled.

"Who was it?"

"Meadow Chapman." She whispered slowly.

His eyes widened. "Damn, she's hot. Still, she's not… you. Everyone knows that Rose Potter is next level fuckable, even more now with this whole damsel in distress thing you've got going on."

"That's just sick Malfoy, god."

"You're welcome by the way." The boy raised an eyebrow. "You know, when that gets back to Pansy… she'll have my head, so, you'd better make it worth my while."

Rosie let out another sob and Malfoy cringed. "Potter don't tell me you're actually gonna let that idiot make you cry. He's not worth it."

"Ugh. It's just, he was my first…After, well… you know."

"Yeah. That's my bloody point. You know, I thought you were gonna deny all that shit about Lockhart once it was out in the papers. I didn't think that you'd have the gall, but I was wrong. You've got guts Potter, and you shouldn't let Diggory knock you down from that."

"Why are you being like this?" Rosie asked suspiciously.

"I'm trying to get in your pants."

"That's what I thought." She sighed.

"Seriously though, all jokes aside, you're a badass Potter, and you're a great fuck, so can we get on with this?"

"You're so disgusting. Where would we even go?" Rose hissed.

"Follow me." He ordered, holding the tip of his wand over her head and uttering an incantation. A shiver passed down through her spine.

"What did you just do to me?"

"I disillusioned you… we learned that spell last week in charms."

"Shit. See this is exactly why I can't be in this awful competition. I didn't even remember learning that." She spoke as they walked.

"Yeah, you're fucked, I bet it was some death eater who did it. They've been meeting a lot since the cup. Somebody wants you dead."

"Maybe it was your daddy. Wouldn't be the first time he tried to kill a student."

"Yeah, sorry about that." He coughed.

Rosie shrugged. "Sins of the father."

They reached the Slytherin common room and Malfoy put a finger over her lips to silence her. This sneaking around thing was all very stimulating. He led her through the room, which was decked out in green and silver, and up the stairs towards the boys' dorms.

When they reached what was presumably his, Malfoy stopped, and let her enter, but not before undoing the tie from his neck and placing it around the doorknob.

The dorm was similar to her own, in opposite colors. The major difference was the massive snake portrait that hung on the wall, looming over the beds. The blond boy had barely given her enough time to look around before he began to go after her frigid, blue eyes roaming her body.

Malfoy drew the pretty shirt up over her head and unhooked her bra in almost the same breath. Maybe she ought to start having sex only with Slytherin boys… they seemed to know what they were doing at least. Pressing her into the bed, Rosie could feel his erection hard against her legs.

As per his usual methods, Malfoy took control. He grabbed a handful of her hair and wrenched her head back, breathing hotly against her neck. With his left hand, he began to undo the buttons on her jeans. The boy did all this with his eyes still fixed on her breasts.

"Fuck you're gorgeous Potter."

That was the first time he'd ever complimented her appearance. When they were both completely nude, Malfoy took her hands behind her back and turned her over so that she was on her stomach. Grasping onto her wrists again, he forced her arms above her head and held her to the bed tightly.

Now that she was completely at his mercy, he took a moment to cast the contraceptive charm, meticulous as always, and returned his hand to her wrist. Rosie was going to have bruises on her arms again. His grip was tight like a vice as he entered her, the feeling different this time due to the change in position. Malfoy was ruthless, and Rose reveled in it. He brought his lips down close to her ear and whispered,

"You still want Diggory?"

She could barely control the sounds of her pleasure as he consumed her. It was so strange, the idea that him holding her down like this could make her feel so good, when it really shouldn't. Malfoy came, hissing obscenities into her ear, his body shuddering with the force of his climax. Rosie was left spent, her body aching and her wrists sore, but she wasn't crying anymore. At least Malfoy made her feel wanted, in his filthy sort of way.

Rose sighed as they got dressed. She had to go back and see Severus. He'd said that Moony and Sirius were going to come by, and she needed to be there. Her lips were swollen, and her hair was in total disarray. Malfoy made sure she got through the common room without detection and then sent her on her way.

When Rosie entered the potion's office again, Severus was there, waiting for her, along with Moony and Sirius They all seemed to be very tense. When she walked in, all three pairs of eyes came to rest on her. Severus sighed long and low when he took in her appearance and Sirius' eyes widened.

"I don't even want to know where you were." Her ex-godfather said quietly.

Before Rosie had time to respond, Moony stood up, a grin plastered on his face. "Hey Princess." He said, pulling her into a tight hug. "I've missed you." Thank goodness for Moony who never cared what she'd been up to.

Rose buried her face into him, taking in the warm, familiar scent and allowing him to slow her heartrate. "I missed you too Moony."

"I specifically told you not to enter this tournament my love." He whispered. The werewolf then began to smooth her hair down so that it lay flat against her shoulders again.

"I didn't…"

"I know sweetheart. Trouble just always has a way of finding you." Her guardian soothed. "You look very nice today." Severus and Sirius were both still silent, just watching their interaction.

"Yup, I was extracting some well-deserved revenge." She winked, and Moony's brows furrowed. "Sometimes you can be so like your father." He sighed, touching his thumb to her cheek.

Severus spoke up from his desk. "Somehow, I believe that even _James Potter_ would not approve of your particular… method of retaliation."

"Leave Rosie alone Sniv." Sirius snapped, still looking at the floor.

"Siri don't call him that. It's fine. I was pretty rude to Severus earlier."

She shot the potions master an apologetic glance and he nodded in acceptance. "So… what are we going to do about this?" Rosie asked, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"You will need to be taught." The dour man stated plainly.

"Yeah, I got that part. So, what? You guys are gonna teach me how not to die?" Rose turned to Moony and Sirius.

For the first time since she'd entered the office, her ex-godfather cracked a smile. "Basically, yes. Every day until the first task to catch you up to speed, and then every three days after that. We'll take turns."

Rosie grimaced. "I hope you know what your getting into." She shook her head.

"Don't be so hard on yourself sweet pea. You were fine in defense last year. Plus, you can cast a corporeal patronus. That's pretty impressive."

"Even if you fucked up the form." Siri added from the side, glaring at Severus.

"There's nothing wrong with bats."

"You're right of course Rosie, you'll have to excuse Sirius, you see, he grew up in a cave, so bats aren't really his thing." Moony taunted the other man.

"That's not even too far from the truth." Siri admitted, dragging a hand through his hair.

They set out a schedule, and Rosie kissed her guardian and Sirius goodbye. When the boys had gone, Severus shot her a concerned look. "Do not punish yourself for Diggory's mistake." He said seriously.

She just shrugged. "I'll be ok."


	64. Chapter 64

"Stop dodging me and cast a bloody spell!" Sirius yelled from the other side of the room.

Rosie shrieked as he shot another stunner towards her and she dropped to the ground.

He jogged over to where she sat and held out a hand. "Honey, you've gotta fight back." He sighed, pulling her up to face him.

"I don't know any spells Siri!" She cried in frustration, throwing her hands in the air.

"Ok…ok, relax Rosie. Relax." He whispered, pulling her into a soft hug. "You do know spells Prongslet, you're just not a comfortable castor. I get that."

"I can't do this." Her voice was resigned.

"Hey now, listen, let's try something different yeah? We'll do a pattern."

Rosie looked up at him. Sirius broke the hug and smiled. "We'll start small."

"What do you mean?"

"Think of it like quidditch. We're gonna plan out the plays at first, get you started. We can start with a disarming spell. What do you cast to block that?"

"Protego."

"Good. Now, how could you counter my spell?"

"Erm… I could stun you."

"Sure, yup. Now, how could I deflect that?

"Impedimenta."

"Exactly. Now, here's the trick. You know I'm gonna slow the stunner, so what could you cast to catch me off guard while I'm busy doing that?"

"Petrificus Totalus?"

"Uh huh. Look how many spells you know now." He grinned. "Ok, repeat the pattern for me."

"Expelliarmus, Protego, Stupefy, Impedimenta, Petrificus Totalus."

"Good. Alright, let's give it a go, really slowly, take a deep breath and relax." Sirius winked, and moved back to the other side of the room.

When Rose was prepared, he cast a disarming spell lazily in her direction. She managed to block it with the shield, and then hesitated.

"Take your time, you've got this."

Her stunner wasn't very powerful, but she managed it. He deflected her easily, and Rosie mustered up her courage and shot the body bind spell his way. The man froze, his arms locking to his sides as he fell onto the mat. She let out a pained little noise of concern and rushed over, ending the bind.

When Rose freed him, Siri broke into a wide smile. "I knew you could do it!" He chuckled, getting up off the floor and twirling her around in a circle happily.

"Let's go again."

Rosie was exhausted by the time they had repeated the pattern a few more times, switching roles midway through the lesson. Sirius had barely broken a sweat. She resented him for that, but she would get her payback. The man was about to call it quits when she quirked an eyebrow and asked,

"So… Can you help me with the Imperius Curse?", her chest still heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Rose wanted to take off her sweater, it was too hot, but she couldn't. Not in front of Sirius.

The ex-con winced. "Now? I really don't want to Prongslet… I don't wanna do that to you." His tone took on a whine that resembled her own.

"Siri you said you would! Please…" She pouted. Rose knew he would agree eventually.

"It's not an easy curse to cast…" He tried.

"Oh please Mr. Auror, you're not even close to tired. Besides, you're not going to be doing anything _to_ me. I trust you."

He let his head fall and groaned. "You're such a little…." Sirius shook his head, smirking. "Fine. Just take a breather."

She nodded, content with his answer. They sat down together on the mats.

"So, you're competing against Diggory, huh? Won't that make things awkward for you?"

Rosie snarled, flopping onto her back. "No. Cedric and I are over. We're done. It doesn't matter."

"Oh shit. I didn't know. Sorry hon. Wait does that mean… you chose Malfoy?" She couldn't see his face, but he sounded horrified.

"No, I didn't _choose_ Malfoy. I don't wanna talk about it."

"C'mon, you can't just leave me hangin kid, it can't be that bad."

"Siri… ugh. He cheated on me ok? He slept with the head girl. Turns out it didn't even matter, me feeling guilty, because he never even knew and he still…" Her voice broke. She was still pretty sore about it.

"Aw… Rosie, I'm sorry, that's awful.

"It's my own fault. I felt so guilty that I pushed him away… right over to her."

"Don't say that. It's his fault for being such a bastard that you went to that death eater boy of all people."

"Ced's not a bastard… We're just… not right for each other. That girl, Meadow is her name…What the hell kind of name is that, am I right? She's who Cedric needs. She's pretty and happy, and she won't lie to him, or ignore him, or pretend to enjoy herself when she's really just waiting for it to be over." She ranted

Sirius' eyes widened and he coughed uncomfortably. "Yeah… he obviously was doing something wrong if…er, yeah. I'm sorry hon, but you're the best, and perfect, and any of those stupid little wankers would be lucky to have you." He tried to comfort her.

"Thanks Siri." Rose flashed him a small smile. "I think I'm ready to continue. Take over my mind!" She changed her tone playfully and pulled him up off the mat.

"Don't say that. It's weird." He moaned.

The first attempt failed, because Sirius was not concentrating. "You have to _mean_ it!"

"But I don't mean it Rose, I'm not even the slightest bit cross with you."

"Pretend…I don't know, pretend you just found out that I'm actually Severus and Lily's lovechild."

He paled. "What the…Never, ever, ever, ever say that again. Don't even think a thought like that, don't… gross. How do you come up with this shit? Thank god you look like your dad."

"Cast it now." Rose prodded.

He did, and the familiar, unfocussed feeling settled over her. Sirius was telling her to walk in a circle around him. She listened, her body couldn't shake it off. The second and third time he cast it ended in the same result.

"Don't worry about it. We'll keep trying." Siri reassured as she failed for the fourth time.

"Maybe you're not motivating me enough."

"Motivating you?"

"I mean… asking me to walk around in circles is hardly uncomfortable enough for my mind to recoil, you know?"

"Yeah, ok, but I'm not really comfortable asking you to do anything else. I don't like this as it is."

"C'mon Siri, just try one more time, think of something else." She shot him her best pleading expression, and he was putty in her hands.

"Alright, whatever, don't say I didn't warn you." Sirius rolled his eyes.

He cast the curse and her face went slack, her body relaxing, and her mind separating into two parts. Siri was telling her to climb up on the table in the corner of the room. He was asking her to climb on the table and use that insult… 'Snivellus.' The name rang in her mind as vaguely familiar. Rosie was making her way over to the table, chanting, 'Snivellus, Snivellus, Snivellus," in her mind, when suddenly she remembered something important. It was Severus, not Snivellus. The next thing that Rose felt was the sensation of the ground moving rapidly towards her and a sharp pain in her elbow as she tried to break her fall.

"Ouch!" She cried out, and Sirius lifted the curse.

"Atta girl Prongslet!" He beamed as he moved quickly over to check her injury and help her up.

"I told you that would work." She grumbled, cradling her arm against her stomach.

"Here, let me see." Siri took her arm in his hand. It was only then that Rose remembered, but it was too late. He'd already rolled up her sleeve.

"Woah… Rose, what the hell is this?" All the light vanished from his eyes as he took in the bruises that decorated the skin of her wrist.

"I fell." Was her automatic response.

Sirius hesitated. "You fell into somebody's fucking hand." He reached for her other arm, but she pulled it away.

"Don't touch me, Sirius."

The man let go of her immediately, but he kept his eyes trained on her face. "Who grabbed you?" He asked, his tone wary.

"Nobody." She sighed.

"No, Rose, be straight with me. What is this? That doesn't just happen by itself."

She flushed red. "It's just Malfoy. He's got…control issues."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius seemed to be on the offensive now.

"It's not a big deal. Honest. He just does that, when we're together."

"You mean he does this during sex?" None of the man's usual discomfort was reflected in the question.

Rosie nodded.

"He holds you down?"

"Sirius, it's not like that… he never forces me."

"No, no, but I bet he could." Siri seemed to lose himself in thought.

"I'm sorry?"

"I bet he could do whatever the fuck he wanted to you and you would let him. You don't give a shit, do you? You just…take it."

Rosie was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"You don't have a fight instinct. That's what's wrong here." He moved closer to her, backing her into the wall.

"Siri what are you doing?" She whimpered as he boxed her in, his arms trapping her there, face just inches from hers.

"I'm not doing anything, but neither are you. That's the bloody problem. You would let me do whatever I wanted to you. You'd let me hurt you, god, you'd just lay there and take it. You wouldn't fight. This is what you do when you're scared, when you feel like you're in danger."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is Rose. You feign confidence, you pretend all the time. Anytime I've ever seen you get aggressive, you were never really scared. You're scared now though. I can see the fear in your eyes… but no reaction. This is why your magic lashes out. It's a last-ditch effort to protect you when you won't do it for yourself.

"Siri stop."

"Not until you fight Rose. Protect yourself."

"Get away from me." She spat.

"No."

Something snapped inside of her then. Rosie reached forward and shoved him off of her. "Fuck you! I did fight. I fought so bloody hard and it didn't do me any good! I screamed, and cried, and pleaded, and struggled and it did nothing! It made it worse!"

Her voice was high pitched and manic now. Sirius just closed his eyes.

"I fought until I couldn't fight anymore and then the only way for me to survive was to let him Siri. There's no other way."

"You're wrong." He stated. "There was no other way. You were powerless, you were alone but you're not now, and you need to stop acting like it. You don't fight because you're scared of making things worse, but you're killing yourself Rose. You're killing your soul."

"I can't Sirius! That part of me already died. It's dead."

"Don't say that Rosie. You're so powerful. You are full of life and you've gotta protect that honey. You've gotta keep that part of you safe. When you feel threatened you need to do something about it."

"I don't know how!" She cried.

Sirius raised his wand and shot a stunner towards her. It missed her by fraction of an inch, on purpose, and there was a glint in the man's eyes.

Rose drew her wand and thrust it forward, a jet of blue light shot toward him, which he deflected. They began to duel. He was definitely going easy on her, but she was firing off every spell that she knew in an endless stream of colorful lights. She ducked out of the way of the spells he was sending to her, until finally, one of them hit and she soared several feet back, landing on her bottom on the mat.

"That's what I'm talking about Rose! That's what you need to do. He offered a hand out to her, and she looked up at him. Sirius Black was _such_ a git, but she took it anyways.

"Listen Rosie. I get it, I do. I spent twelve years in Azkaban. I know a thing or two about learned helplessness, but I also know that you're gonna have a harder go at things if you continue like this."

"What am I supposed to do?" She whispered.

"Take control Rose. You take control, and…you don't let anyone grab you like that kid. Not ever again."


	65. Chapter 65

Rita Skeeter was a woman that Rosie had spent a lot of time thinking about over the past few months. The woman had spent nearly two months during the summer writing almost constant articles about Rose, but never had they met face to face. She was the reporter who first broke the Lockhart story… the one who had cited an anonymous source listening in on her and Malfoy in the drawing room at the Longbottom manor.

When Rosie came face to face with the blonde woman for the first time, she wasn't sure whether to slap her or give her a hug. On the one hand, Skeeter had basically ruined her life. She had left Rose vulnerable and exposed for all Magical Britain to see and had caused her so much pain and anxiety leading up to the trial. However, on the other hand… she was the reason that Rosie would never have to see her former defense professor ever again.

There was also the fact that the woman had graciously left out some major details of the conversation at the Longbottom manor, which would have made her look really bad. Afterall, the headline could have read,

" _Drunken Confessions: Girl Who Lived accuses former Hogwarts Professor of rape and then seduces Malfoy heir."_

The article did not touch on those nastier details, which had made the whole process that much easier. As it turns out, Rosie didn't have to decide how to react to Rita Skeeter, because Cedric did it for her. It was at the weighing of the wands; the first task was two weeks away and the champions had all be called together to have their wands examined by Ollivander.

Everyone had arrived before her, because Rose had been in the middle of ruining her potion and Severus had been standing over her glaring when Colin Creevey had come to relay the message.

When Rosie did get there, she walked into the room right in the middle of a confrontation.

"You should never have written that article without permission!"

"Are you against freedom of the press young man?" Skeeter retaliated.

"I'm not talking about the damn law. I'm saying that it was underhanded, and you caused a lot of problems!"

"I'd hardly call helping to put a violent offender behind bars a problem!"

"It wasn't fair on Rose, she really suffered because of you."

"No, she suffered because she didn't come forward right away!"

Rosie cleared her throat. Cedric and Skeeter were not alone. Ollivander, Dumbledore, Ludo Bagman, Fleur, and Viktor were there, and all eyes moved to her face as she made herself known.

"Thank you everyone for your opinion on my personal life." Rose drawled, glaring at Cedric. Her heart clenched as he twitched. It almost looked like he wanted to reach out to her. Fleur Delacour seemed irritated about something, appraising Rosie from head to toe and then turning her nose up.

Perhaps she wasn't used to have a little friendly competition. However, Rose was so distracted by Cedric that she hardly noticed the fact that Viktor Krum had given her a once over with his eyes.

Rose decided to ignore the presence of Rita Skeeter, and she quickly took her wand out, hoping to get this over with quickly. Ollivander took it in his hands and smiled that creepy smile at her.

"Yes…here we have our anomaly. Holly and phoenix tail feather, curious this match."

She sighed internally, praying that he would not go into more depth with Skeeter here. Once her wand had been weighed, Rosie tried to make her escape. She shot a pained glance at Dumbledore when, before she could make it to the door, the wretched woman stopped her.

"Miss Potter, Rose, May I call you Rose? If you wouldn't mind… I'd love a word."

"Oh, you'd actually like to talk to me? I figured you'd just keep assuming." Rose snapped.

"Now Rose, don't be like that. I thought you would have appreciated the effort I went to this summer in order to prevent any _misinformation_ from spreading."

Her tone lingered on the word misinformation and Rosie shivered.

"It was just horrible what was done to you. You must be overjoyed to be back in the saddle and competing in the Triwizard Tournament at that!"

The acid green quill that hovered beside Skeeter's head seemed to poise itself to take notes. Rose growled.

"I am not talking about this right now. No comment."

"Rose dear, I'm sure that everyone would love to know how you're recovering." Her voice was condescending and not at all what she'd pictured.

"She said no comment." Cedric interjected, stepping towards her.

Rosie's stomach curled as he defended her. Why was he being so sweet? They had broken up. Unable to bear all the staring, she looked to Ollivander.

"Was that all?"

The man smiled again, handing her wand back. "Indeed, that is all." He seemed to sigh with pleasure.

"Alright. Thank you." Rose nodded curtly and turned to leave again. Unfortunately, Bagman stopped her, and requested that they take a group photo. In that moment, she would have preferred the endure Severus' sneer of disgust at her potion to this. Fleur and Viktor seemed equally inclined to leave, so they posed. Cedric shot her another searching glance and offered out his hand.

Frustrated and upset now, Rosie took it, and allowed him to bring her into the picture. When it was over, and she was permitted to leave, she did so with haste, leaving behind Ced as he called for her to wait. What the hell was that? Rose had thought that the boy would have made things official with Meadow…Was he actually pining after her? She didn't know what to think.

After the wand weighing, Rose had her lesson with Moony. Lessons with him had been nice, as she'd known they would be. That had been the best thing to come out of the blasted tournament. It seemed that Sirius was taking charge of dueling and spell casting, whereas Moony reviewed dark creatures with her.

They'd practiced again with kelpies, hinkypunks, grindylow, and had even reviewed a few plants, such as devil's snare. Rosie would never forget how to defeat devil's snare, not after her first year.

Today, they would work with a boggart. Moony, who was always punctual, waited in the training room, where the dueling club had been held in her second year with a big smile on his face. He always taught with his record player, and the werewolf was in the process of setting that up when she entered.

"Good evening my darling." He greeted, with his back towards her.

"Hi Moony."

Nobody had ever been as affectionate with her as Moony was. He never came or went without hugs and kisses, and Rosie cherished it. The man was the first person who'd ever hugged her… and the only one to do so again until she had arrived at Hogwarts. Rose was relishing the lessons with her guardian, having been suffering from separation anxiety for the past couple of months.

Because she had never successfully defeated a boggart, Moony began from scratch with her, reminding her of the charm, and what she had to do. Then he demonstrated. His boggart, the moon, shone prettily as it hung suspended in the air.

As he had the first time, the werewolf changed the silvery orb into a balloon. When it came time for Rosie to try, she stood in front of the cabinet, which contained the creature, and allowed Moony to open it. Expecting a dementor, she was surprised at what stepped out.

It was… herself? The girl that exited the cabinet was Rose, or a copy of her. The only difference was, that this Rosie's eyes were haunted. Her arms were littered with bruises, and her expression was emotionless.

She recoiled, eyes wide as she stared at the figure, Sirius' words ringing through her head from their first lesson.

 _You're killing your soul Rosie. You'd let me do whatever I wanted. You'd just lay there and take it._

Rosie hadn't realized just how much of an effect that conversation had had on her until she stared down the soulless version of herself. Too long had passed and she could hear Moony's voice cut through the silence.

"Rosie… remember your charm honey."

Rose began to wrack her brain, trying desperately to think of something that would make this funny… but nothing about it was. There was no way that she could change this Rosie into something laughable. Moony seemed to sense her dilemma because he stepped in front of her, calling back the moon and immediately banishing it. Her guardian turned around then and moved to take her hand.

"That wasn't what you were expecting, was it?" He pulled her closer and Rose shook her head.

"Not even close."

Rosie allowed him to coax her to sit on the table where she'd fallen before, and he moved to sit beside her.

"Let's talk about it." He suggested.

"I didn't realize it could change." She whispered softly.

"Indeed, it changes as you do. For me, there will never be a fear greater than that of the moon; however, for you… I would imagine that your fears have developed, especially now that you can cast a patronus."

"I'm gonna kill him." Rosie huffed.

Moony raised an eyebrow. "Who is that my love?"

"Stupid Sirius. He did this."

"Sirius… did what?"

"He made my fear change, he made me scared of…of…"

"Yourself." Her guardian finished.

Rose bit her lip.

"Why do you say that sweet pea? What happened with Sirius?"

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "He said… he said that I just let people do whatever they want to me… he told me I'm killing my soul, that I don't have any fight instincts, and that I don't protect myself." Her confession was quiet, but full of emotion.

Moony let out a low whistle. "Wooh. That does sound alarming. I couldn't help but notice that your boggart had some bruises."

He reached a hand over and rested it on her wrist, sliding the sleeve of her sweater up gently. "Right here." Her guardian rubbed a finger up and down her forearm, which was fully healed now."

Now it was Rosie who sighed. "Yeah. She did."

"We don't have to talk about that part if you don't want to… but I want you to know that you can talk to me, about absolutely anything."

She nodded against him. "Moony… can I ask you a personal question?

"Of course you can princess."

"When were you, erm, bitten?"

The man stiffened and then exhaled, still tracing his finger along her forearm. "I was five years old." He confessed quietly. "My father… Lyall, worked for the ministry at the time and a man named Fenrir Greyback was on trial for murdering two children."

Rosie was listening with rapt attention.

"Now, my father was the only one to realize that Greyback was a werewolf, and he was outraged when the man was released without imprisonment. He then made Greyback's lycanthropy known to the ministry and pushed for the dementor's kiss as punishment."

Her eyes widened.

"Greyback was very angry with my father… and so he decided to exact revenge. I was asleep in my bed the night of the full moon when he came through the window. My screams woke my parents up, but by the time they could drive him away, it was too late."

"Oh Moony."

He met her eyes, and she felt like she was looking right into his soul. "My father spent a long time trying to cure me. He was obsessed. Nobody thought that I would be allowed to go to Hogwarts until Dumbledore… well, he made an exception."

Rosie constructed her next question carefully. "I know that people, wizards, treat you pretty bad when they find out… but, did you ever, feel like you deserved to be treated badly? You know… because of your condition."

Moony seemed to know exactly what she was looking to hear. "Every day of my life sweetheart. Those things, those feelings, they never really leave us, but at the end of the day, it is you who determines your worth, nobody else. It is you who gets to decide how you let others treat you."

"What if you can't tell if someone's hurting you?"

Her guardian frowned. "I would expect Rosie, that you would know in your heart. You'd know because after you might feel… anxious, or nervous, you might feel badly about yourself, or you may even feel resigned, like there's nothing to be done, so you don't even try to change it."

It was apparent that they weren't talking about lycanthropy anymore. In fact, she was certain that Moony had guessed the context of her question. Rose nodded, and then took a deep breath, deciding to change the topic before she spilled all her secrets.

"Severus is driving me crazy Moony." She stated.

Understanding flashed in his eyes, and the werewolf pulled his face into a small smile, accepting the change of subject easily. "How so?"

"He's grumpy all the time, and he's cross with me for not having a plan for the first task yet… but it's really hard when nobody knows what it is."

"You've been put in a very difficult position this year love. I'm sure that Severus is just sick with worry. Some people lash out at others when they feel upset."

"I just want him to be… Severus again. The one who transfigures me owl pajamas, and lets me cry to him about boys, not this angry shadow following me around annoying me if I do anything other than prepare for the task."

"Have you tried telling him that?"

"Hah. He'd just tell me that my life is worth more than my Gryffindor sensibilities or something."

"Ah, see you're probably right there, but the thing is… Severus loves you despite those sensibilities, so he might just understand." Moony winked, kissed her forehead, and then they continued with the lesson. Though, the boggart they left for another day.

As it turned out, Rosie's issues with the tournament were resolved that same night. Pulling the covers open on her bed, she noticed that there was a folded-up piece of paper resting on her sheet. Rose opened it and paused, confusion washing over her. It read,

 _Meet me in the common room at midnight, bring your invisibility cloak. I know this sounds weird but it's important. Don't tell Mione._

 _-Ron_

What in Merlin's name could Ron want with her at midnight that she couldn't tell Hermione about? Ever since Lockhart, Rose and Ron had not been very close. At that time, Rosie had drifted pretty far away from both he and Hermione, but probably due to their shared room, she'd been able to recuperate her friendship with Mione easier.

When she'd stayed with the Weasleys, most of her time had been spent with Ginny. This year, Ron had really matured. Probably, due to Hermione's influence. He'd even been taking his classes more seriously. Rose had been surprised that first day in defense when he and Dean had stuck up for her.

Changing into pajamas, she dug out the invisibility cloak, which she didn't use much anymore, and waited. At eleven fifty-nine, Rosie snuck down the stairs to find Ron already seated on the couch by the fireplace. She cleared her throat.

"Rose." He said, turning around to face her.

"Hey Ron. What's up?" Rose moved to sit next to him.

"Did you bring the cloak?"

She held it out to him. "Is everything ok? No offense, but this is kinda not like you."

"Yeah, I know, sorry. I just… I know what the first task is."

Rosie's heart skipped a beat. "You do?"

The boy nodded.

"Oh, thank god. You're saving my life Ron. If the task didn't kill me then Severus surely would've for not going into it prepared."

"Yeah, Snape seems more pissed off than usual." He agreed.

"So… what is it? A puzzle, a duel, a creature, more than one of the above?"

"I think it's best if I just show you. That's why I asked you to bring the cloak."

Rose let her confusion show on her face but allowed Ron to drape the cloak over the both of them and pull her out into the hall. It reminded her of first year. Ron was her first friend, before they'd even gotten to know Hermione yet.

That was before… Now, they had grown and changed, and everything wasn't as simple as it had been. Still, the nostalgia coursed through her veins and only amplified her fondness for the youngest Weasley boy.

He was leading her outside, onto the grounds and towards Hagrid's hut. As they walked, Ron tried to make conversation.

"So, er, have you been learning a lot from Professor Lupin and Sirius?"

"I guess so yeah. Mostly they just listen to me cry and then we're lucky to fit a bit of education in after that."

Ron grimaced. Rose knew she should be less…herself around him, but she was nervous about the tournament. It was hard to pretend.

"What do you cry about?" He asked, brows furrowing.

"Mmm. The tournament, the fact that my stupid boyfriend slept with someone else, sometimes the trial stuff. You know, the usual."

"Hey, I'm really sorry about Cedric, that was a pretty horrible thing to do."

Rosie shrugged. "Yeah, I think he regrets it… he keeps trying to talk to me."

"Do you wanna talk to him?"

"Sometimes, yeah, but sometimes no. I wish we were still together, but I can't get the image out of my head of… them together."

Ron frowned. "You act so much older than us Rose. Like Ced is three years older than you but you act like you're his age, not ours."

"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow, disagreeing silently as she pictured herself crawling into her guardian's bed at night and following Severus around like a puppy.

"I mean… you know a lot about relationships and stuff…"

"Are you talking about sex?" Rosie laughed as they passed the shrieking shack.

It was dark, but she knew that Ron was blushing.

"I guess so yeah."

"Well your wrong, I'm a child. Severus and Moony can attest to that, but I do know a bit about sex. I also happen to know that Hermione is pretty curious if that's what you're getting at."

"She… she is?" His eyes widened.

"Yes. Trust me, I know. She wants to, but she'd scared it will hurt."

Ron coughed awkwardly. "Will it?"

"Not for you." She nudged his shoulder.

"No, I didn't er, think so, but I mean for her? I don't want to hurt her."

"Listen Ron, I don't really know. I never had a proper first time, but I do know that the more into it she is, the less it will hurt. So, I'd suggest you look up some techniques to erm… get her going, and then hopefully she'll be fine."

"That's good to know…thanks."

"Meh, you're helping me out, no reason I can't help you out too." Rose chuckled.

When the pair arrived at the edge of the forbidden forest, Ron moved to follow the path. "Urgh. I don't like this." Rosie whined, her stomach churning with nerves.

"You're such a girl." He complained, taking her arm and dragging her along.

It was dragons. The first task was dragons. Ron knew because Charlie Weasley was at Hogwarts. He was staying in a tent in the forbidden forest next to four, ginormous, straight out of a muggle fairytale, fire breathing dragons. Rose almost wet herself when she caught sight of them. Severus was going to have a heart attack when he found out. She didn't utter a word on the way back up to the castle.

When they arrived back at Gryffindor tower, Ron turned to her. "Don't freak out too much. I'm sure they won't let anything bad happen to you… Charlie says that dragons are just like children, but dangerous. He says they stay up all night fighting and hissing at each other, but during the day they're pretty playful."

"Playful?" Rosie retorted. "Dragons are not playful!"

Then she froze. Something that he'd said had just clicked.

"Did you say hissing?"


	66. Chapter 66

Remus came through the fire and into his cottage, pensive. Sirius wasn't doing anything, as usual, and he looked up and smiled when the werewolf entered.

"How's Rosie?" He asked.

"I'm not sure…" Remus replied.

"Oh?"

"I don't know exactly what you've told her Padfoot… but be careful."

The man's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Whatever you said to her, something about protecting herself, it scared the shit out of her Sirius. Her boggart changed."

"What?" His eyes widened.

"It used to be a dementor… now it's, herself, but like a version of herself whose eyes were dead. It was unnerving. The boggart had bruises all over her arms and this expression… I don't even want to recall it."

Much to Remus' surprise, his friend just nodded. "Good. She should be afraid."

"Sirius." He chastised, that's uncalled for.

"No, Remus. You and Snivellus baby her too much. Rose is on a bad path right now. She doesn't need babying, she needs the truth."

"What are you saying?" The werewolf asked now, his tone clipped.

"Listen, Rosie doesn't talk to me about much, but she does tell me a lot about those boyfriends of hers, and I don't like what I hear."

"Boyfriends? His lips pursed.

"Shit. I shouldn't have said that." Sirius sighed.

"Who's the other?"

Padfoot just shook his head. "Forget it."

"Sirius, you have to stop with this whole 'keep the boys away from Rosie' thing.

"No… Moony it's not that. I can't break her confidence, but it's not that she _has_ a boyfriend, which she doesn't now by the way… it's how they treat her… how she lets them treat her."

"She broke up with Cedric?"

Sirius nodded, staring into the fire.

"Does this have something to do with the bruises that were on her arms after the world cup? She never did tell me the truth about that."

His friend cringed. "I didn't know she had them after the cup too."

"Too?" He gasped.

"Nothing. I said nothing. Nevermind. I'm working on it ok? Just, she's not in danger. That's good… about her boggart I mean."

"You're freaking me out Padfoot."

"No, don't be. It's fine. She'll come out of it."

Remus nodded. He'd let Sirius have this one for now, but the werewolf was worried, especially as he replayed the questions that she`d asked him that evening in his mind.

On the morning of the first task, Rosie was not nervous. She knew that she had it in the bag. Severus was pacing though. He had asked her like ten times already what she was going to do, and Rose hadn't told him. She hadn't even told him that there would be dragons. Her guardian had followed her into the champions tent grumbling about faulty age lines.

Cedric had come over to greet her, and Severus glared murderously at her ex-boyfriend as he spoke.

"Erm… Hi Rose." He seemed to shrink away under the potion's masters stare.

"Hey Ced." She sighed. They'd been speaking again. Rosie was weak. He hadn't gotten together with Meadow after all, and he still missed her… it was hard to resist that ridiculous pretty boy pleading expression and the hair tussle. They weren't dating again, but she'd told him about the dragons, and they'd shared a few lengthy embraces… and other things after that.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck and thank you again for giving me a leg up." He smirked.

Rosie trailed her finger down his chest. "You're welcome. Good luck Ced."

The boy grinned crookedly and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, turning around and moving back towards where Viktor and Fleur stood.

Severus sneered. "Should you not be concentrating?"

"Relax Severus. It'll be a breeze." She shot him a smile and fixed her ponytail.

"Why must you choose moments such as these to act like your father?" He spat.

She raised an eyebrow. He must be scared shitless if he was bringing up James Potter like that.

"Perhaps arrogance has it's virtues." Rosie said, leaning forward to rest her head on his chest… but only for a moment. "Now, Severus. I'll be fine. You know me. I wouldn't say that if it weren't true. Leave. You're just stressing me out. I love you. I'll see you after."

The man growled as she began to shove him towards the opening in the tent. "Go sit with Moony. I want to see you sitting with Moony."

Cedric was eying her amusedly when she returned from kicking Severus out. As it turned out, he was chosen to go first. Rose's stomach tightened as he entered into the arena. Ced did not have the same strategy as her, she knew this. He could get hurt.

Rosie wanted to watch, but she wasn't allowed. Instead, she stayed back with Krum who was asking her some inane question about wandless casting, like she knew anything about that. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy watching the boy speak… he was very attractive and normally his accent made her weak in the knees. Now just wasn't the time. The task seemed to last forever, and the audience was not helping, shrieking and screaming like they were the ones facing the dragon.

Finally, Fleur was called to go through. Her task took even longer. By the time it was over, Rosie needed the loo. That would be her issue, not the dragon, but the fact that she had to pee, and nobody would let her leave to do so. Why did she have to be last?

Rose danced in her spot as Krum went through. He was much quicker than Fleur, she heard a lot of screaming and wondered if the seeker had decided to do battle with the dragon. By the time he was done, Rose just wanted this whole thing to end, because she really had drunk too much water before the task.

As Rosie stepped out into the arena, he stomach churned with nerves. Not because of the mission at hand, but because everyone was looking at her, and she knew that they would all be looking at her even more in a moment. She found Severus seated next to Moony, his face white as a sheet. Her guardian wasn't looking much better, and it wasn't even close to the full moon. They'd just watched three people try and perform the same task. Sirius seemed to be poised to jump out of his seat and fight a dragon. Oh dear, her poor family.

Taking a deep breath, Rosie turned away from them and looked at the dragon. She tried not to look too hard because it was huge. Removing her wand from her pocket, Rose picked up a stone off the ground and said a brief incantation. The stone turned into a snake, just as she had practiced. She hissed quietly to herself, commanding the snake to wrap itself around her wrist. She couldn't speak parseltongue if there wasn't a snake around. At this point, nobody had really seen what she'd been up to. Next Rose held her wand up to her throat and cast,

"Sonorus." As the minister of magic had during the world cup. Voice now magnified, Rosie began to speak. Not at the audience, but to the dragon, keeping the snake around her wrist firmly in mind. She knew that she was about to scare the pants off everyone in the crowd.

" _Hello dragon."_ She started, fighting the urge to giggle at the stupidity of this. Her voice came out as a strangled hiss. It was creepy, and there was a collective gasp from the spectators.

The animal turned its head towards her, eyes forming into thin slits.

" _A speaker. What is the purpose of my capture?"_ The thing growled. It seemed angry.

" _You have been captured to participate in this human activity. There was a golden egg planted in the nest with your real eggs. This is not one of your children. My job, is to come retrieve it so that your eggs can rest peacefully."_

" _You wish to enter my nest?"_

" _Yes. If I don't, somebody else will, and I will not harm any of your other eggs. I give you my word. However, I cannot promise that others will show you the same courtesy."_

The gigantic reptile heaved itself up with force, and moved over, thumping its body down a few feet from the nest so that Rosie had full view of the golden egg.

" _Thank you. I'll be quick, and then I'll leave you alone."_

" _Very well."_ It replied.

Rose skipped forward, trying to be fast. She didn't want to chance the dragon's instincts taking over. Picking up the egg in her hands, Rosie looked behind the nest to the door that would lead her out. She took one last look at the dragon and walked through.

There. She'd participated. That had taken all of… one minute? Give or take a few seconds. She tried not to feel too cocky about it. Karma would probably get her in the next two tasks. Rose was just happy to not have died. As she had expected, nobody really cheered. It was clear that they all thought she was Voldemort reincarnated. Rosie couldn't blame them, but she had to do what she had to do.

Coming through into the next tent, set up like a hospital, Rose looked around. Cedric was being tended to by a mediwitch. He was burned on one side and wincing in pain. Krum was fine, and Fleur seemed to be under medical care for something as well. Rosie rushed over to where Ced was and he appraised her, staring at the egg in her hand.

"You're done?!" His eyes were wide.

She shrugged. "Guess so."

"Your ponytail is still perfect. What the hell did you even do?" Ced seemed amused but groaned again in pain as the healer began to put a salve on his burns.

"I just asked it to move."

"You… what?"

Rosie held out her arm, lifting the sleeve of her robe and revealing the small snake still coiled around her.

"You little sneak! Dragons speak parseltongue?!"

"Apparently." She giggled. "It came at a cost though… I'm pretty sure I terrified everyone watching.

"I can only imagine."

"Anyways, I'm glad your alive and all, but I really gotta pee, I'll be back before they announce the winners."

The boy just shook his head. Oh, she missed him.

When Rosie exited the tent, she was immediately bombarded. Sirius actually jumped onto her, his eyes still abnormally wide as he gripped her shoulders.

"How in Merlin's name did we have no idea that you could command dragons?!"

She laughed a little. "I can't _command_ dragons. Just snakes. I had to ask nicely."

"Do you have any idea how disturbing that was to watch?"

Rosie cringed. "Yes, I know, I'm a parselmouth, it's really fucking weird, I heard myself speak."

"Come here you crazy, weird, precious girl." She heard Moony chuckle from behind, hold his arms out for a hug. Rose shot over to him, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief as he checked to make sure she was indeed still alive.

Severus approached quietly. He did not make a move to interject into her time with her guardian, favoring instead to stand off to the side, not to close to Sirius of course. When Rose turned to him, he held her stare. She approached cautiously, biting her lip. Severus got down to her level and took her arms in his hands.

"If you ever withhold that type of information from me again, you will be sorry." He hissed. Rosie took him into a hug, and she was surprised to feel his arms crush her against him. The man bent down and whispered into her ear.

"You will be the death of me."

"You are going to be the reason I pee my pants if you don't loosen your grip." She giggled into his shoulder.

The man released her, and she poked his chest. "I told you I'd be fine."

He just glared. Rosie still really needed the loo. She excused herself, just catching Severus' sneer of, "Wicked child."

She spun around and hissed at them, instructing the little snake on her arm to climb up his pant leg, and then she skipped away.


	67. Chapter 67

It had been a week since the first task and Rose was beginning to feel exhausted. She had tied for first place with Krum, losing points in creativity, but gaining them in speed. However, school work, on top of preparing for the tournament, and trying to figure out her egg clue was overwhelming. She hadn't felt this tired since her second year. It didn't help that Rosie hated defense class. Moody was awful. He was cruel, and vulgar, not to mention intimidating as hell.

Cedric had been trying to worm his way back into the boyfriend spot in her life, and she was so exhausted that she was just letting him, even though it hurt. That made her feel bad about herself. No matter how hard she tried, Rose could not seem to forget Sirius' words to her that night in the practice room, or the subsequent boggart. Those thoughts haunted her, and she felt out of control to stop it. How could she even begin to tackle such deep-rooted issues when she was barely able to keep herself upright on a day to day basis?

Rosie moaned and her lips parted as Cedric prodded for access to her mouth with his tongue. They had snuck away for a much-needed break in between classes. His hands snaked around her waist, pulling her small form closer into his chest. She fit just right. Slowly, the boy's hand began to travel lower, slipping under her uniform skirt and tucking into her tights. His fingers travelled up towards her center, caressing the now damp spot on her knickers.

"I missed you Rose." He sighed, slipping a finger inside her.

"Ugh!" She bucked into him. "I missed you too."

Cedric allowed another finger to enter her deliberately, curling them together just enough to make her insides squirm and her legs turn to jelly. Rosie ground down onto him. She reacted so easily to his touch. About to lose herself in the abyss, allowing Ced full access to her, they both froze when they heard a knock on the door of the headboy's room.

"Hey, Ced. Are you in there? We have patrols!"

It was Meadow. Rosie's arousal died instantly, her body becoming rigid. She pulled away from Cedric and turned her back on him.

"Rose…" He tried. Meadow knocked again.

"We're gonna be late, hurry up!"

"Go." She stated plainly.

"No… Rose don't be like that please, I thought we were trying to move past this?"

"Just go with her Ced. It's fine."

It definitely wasn't fine.

"I… I have to lock up." He stuttered meekly.

Rosie stood up, trying to stop the tears from falling. She would not let that girl see her cry. Without another word to Cedric, Rose stalked over to the door and opened it, revealing the stupid pretty cheerleader's dumb face on the other side. She took pleasure in the fact that the girl's smile faltered when Rosie came into view. Channeling Severus, she glared the girl down and kept walking, all the way to the other side of the school.

She found herself coming to a halt when she could no longer keep the tears in. Rosie wanted to be with Cedric so badly, but she couldn`t do this. She couldn't watch them interact… not for the next two years. It was too much. The other girl made her so self-conscious. Rose only wished she could be that… perfect.

Burying her face in her hands, Rosie allowed herself then to shed her tears. She wanted her mom. Rose would bet anything that Lily Potter would have some idea of what she ought to do in this situation. Gripping the locket around her neck tightly, the tears turned into sobs. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that her mom died, and her aunt hated her, and the only person who might know what her mom would have been thinking was a man and Rosie just really needed a woman in her life sometimes.

Trying desperately to pull herself together, Rose straightened out her uniform. She could not show up like this to defense. Moody would eat her alive. The man seemed to pick on her a lot. Sometimes, he just called her to answer questions or to help demonstrate, but sometimes he made subtle jabs at her character, or brought up Lockhart. It would not be a good idea to go to his class already feeling weak, but she couldn't miss another one. Drying her face with her robe sleeve, Rosie made her way to the nearest lavatory to make herself look presentable again.

When she entered the loo, Rose was immediately made aware that she wasn't alone. Another girl had locked herself in a stall and was crying softly. She immediately sympathized. Still feeling the loss of her mother, Rosie resolved to see if she could reach out. Maybe, this girl needed her mother too. She knocked on the door of the stall.

"Hey, are you ok?"

The girl obviously had thought that she was alone, because she startled.

"Oh! Oui, I…I`m alright."

Oh Merlin, that was French. What had Rosie gotten herself into now? What was done was done, so she spoke again.

"Listen, why don't you come out of there. If you cry for too long, you'll attract Moaning Myrtle."

The girl seemed to hesitate, and the she opened the stall door slowly. Rose had to cover her mouth to hide her shock. Red faced and hiding out in the bathroom stall was none other than Fleur Delacour. The typically cool and confident girl appeared to be in the middle of an emotional breakdown.

"Fleur… What's wrong? Is everything ok? Are you sick?"

"Zick! Oui, I am zick!" She sobbed.

Rosie cringed. "Ok, well, do you want me to go and fetch you a potion…? Or I could walk you to the infirmary."

"No, it iz of no use, I vill be zick for a long vile now."

"I'm sorry?" She tried to clarify.

The girl seemed to be at war with herself. It was clear she needed to talk to somebody, but she had been treating Rosie poorly since they'd met.

"Fleur, don't worry ok…? I'm not gonna say anything to anyone. I never asked you to dislike me, and I don't dislike you. Whatever you say is in confidence."

"Oh Rose, I am an eediot! I am zeventeen 'ears old. I should not 'ave zis problem."

"What's wrong? Just let it out." She tried to soothe.

"I 'ad unprotected zex, and now I am paying zee consequence."

Rosie's heart jumped in her chest. This problem was a bit bigger than what she'd been expecting. "Fuck. You're pregnant? Did you test?"

The older girl covered her face with her hands and nodded. "'Ow can I be pregnant in zis tournament?" Fleur continued, her chest heaving. "I cannot compete in ze final task vith a 'uge stomach! Not to mention my Maman vill be… vraiment en colère!"

Rosie didn't know what that meant, but she assumed that Fleur's mother would be pissed. She would trade places with the French girl in an instant if it meant that her own mom could be alive enough to be furious with her. Taking a deep breath, she appraised the girl before her. She was the same age as Cedric, but in that moment, she looked like a scorned child. Rose sympathized with her French counterpart…vapid and spiteful as she was, she shouldn't have to deal with this alone. Rosie would not want to deal with that alone if it had been her, which at least on three occasions, it could've been. Remembering that, also called to her mind Moony's words to her in detention.

" _Don't worry, there are potions that would be able to make you not pregnant if by chance you were."_

Pursing her lips, Rose realized what she had to do.

"Alright. Don't panic Fleur. If I could get ahold of a potion for you… to erm, get rid of it… would that make this better for you?"

"Rose, 'ow would you possibly manage zat? Eet is not commonly zold. 'Ou would need a potions master." The girl sounded resigned.

"Yeah, well, that's not a problem. I have one. Let me see what I can do, yeah?"

For the first time since she'd found the other champion, Rose saw the girl's eyes fill with hope. "'Ou would do zat for me, after 'ow I 'ave treated you?"

She just shrugged. "It could've been any one of us. Just give me a few days ok? I'll explore the options."

Fleur fell onto her then, crying, and expressing her gratitude. Rosie hoped she could pull it off. It really would be horrible to be six months pregnant and locked into a binding magical tournament. Severus was going to be so irritated.

Once Fleur stopped crying, Rosie went to defense. Of course, she was late, and Moody just had to make a comment about that, but otherwise he was pretty tame that day. For some reason, Hermione had gotten it in her head that that night was the night she wanted to have sex for the first time. Rose congratulated her, and then quickly pulled her aside and taught her the contraceptive charm. One pregnant student seemed like enough.

Later, after defense when she was free and she knew that Severus was too, Rosie began the trek down to the dungeons. Malfoy was in Severus' office again. She hated when Malfoy met with the potions master because it always reminded her that he had been a death eater. They only ever seemed to meet to discuss Draco's father.

Rosie knocked lightly and Malfoy jumped. He relaxed though when he saw that is was her. Severus eyed the boy carefully.

"Get out Malfoy, I need to talk to Professor Snape."

Draco raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Here for a bit of _extra credit_?" He taunted.

She could see her guardian's face contort in disgust from behind the blond boy.

"Pfft. You're just jealous."

"You bet I am." Malfoy winked, staring pointedly at her breasts.

Deciding to quit before Severus murdered them, Rosie just shook her head and sat down. Draco stood up, and as he was leaving, pulled on a strand of her hair, hard.

"Ow, you git!"

"That's not what you said the other night!" He called back into the office.

Rose flushed red.

Severus, who had not spoken yet, appeared livid. That had not been a good way to start this conversation.

"How is it that in that exchange you not only managed to insinuate impropriety on my part, but also left me with the fear that you were somehow engaged with Draco Malfoy the _other night_?"

"Relax Severus, it's just banter. He's not really that mean to me anymore, not after… er, you know, the summer party incident."

"I do not like you mixing with the Slytherins. Especially, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yeah well, I don't like Cedric on patrols every day with that _girl_ … but we can't always have what we want."

"Yes, I have come to the distressing realization that you intend to allow him back into your life. I assume that my opinion regarding Diggory's little… _rendezvous_ is not a deterrent to you."

"Not really, even though you're probably right. He made me upset again today. I was crying in the corridor."

Severus cringed visibly. "It pains me to witness the damage that you allow others to inflict upon you."

"Join the club." She sighed. This was way off topic now. "Anyways, I came here because I need a favor… but you have to promise not to freak out."

Her guardian raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Erm… I need to know if there is a method… a potion more specifically, that a witch could use to terminate an unwanted pregnancy."

He froze. "Rose Lily Potter if you mean to tell me…"

"It's not for me!" She added quickly. "I'm not… no. It's for a friend."

"For a friend? You have two female friends. I shudder to think that either Miss Granger or Miss Weasley would be in need of a potion such as that."

"Ok, not really a friend, more like an acquaintance."

"What makes you think that I would dole out a potion of that magnitude to a student?"

"Listen, please, I can't tell you who it is, but I can tell you for sure that it would be disastrous and probably dangerous for this girl to be pregnant right now."

Severus' eyes narrowed. "As it stands, I do not keep that particular potion on hand."

"I can help you brew it." She offered.

"It is not by chance Miss Chapman that is in this predicament…is it?"

Rosie's eyes widened in horror at the thought. "Oh god, don't say that Severus. Please. That's not it." Her eyes began to sting again. She wiped her robe across her face, smothering the tears before they fell.

"I apologize. I simply am not accustomed to you offering your …brewing services."

Rose frowned. "I would want someone to help me if I were in that situation. Plus, you said it before, the guy should've thought of it too. It shouldn't be just Fl…erm, her who has to pay the consequences."

"Hmm. Why the sudden concern for Miss Delacour? I was under the impression that you were not… _on good terms_."

Of course, he'd guessed already.

"I don't know, I've just been thinking a lot about my mom lately, and I just… felt like me helping Fleur connected me to her somehow."

"You are always connected to your mother child."

"Thanks Severus, but still, I want to help her. Imagine how awful it would be to have to compete in the third task like that. She'd already be showing and everything."

He nodded. "Very well. As you seem adamant, I will brew it, but you will assist, and Miss Delacour will be required to see a mediwitch after it is ingested."

Rosie agreed readily, and they set a day to brew it. She respected Severus very much for helping.

When Rose showed up a week later with the finished potion for Fleur, the girl was over the moon. Her whole body seemed to sag with relief.

"Rose, you 'ave saved my life. 'Ow can I return ze favor?"

"No, you're fine Fleur, really. Just feel better."

"No. I inseest. Let me take 'ou to buy a new dress. For ze Yule Ball."

She stopped in her tracks then. "For the what?"


	68. Chapter 68

The Yule Ball, as it so happened, was mandatory to attend… for Rose anyways. She was disappointed because it would take place on the twenty fifth in the evening, which mean that she would have less time to spend on that day with her family. Fleur's offer proved to be quite useful, because Rosie did not have an appropriate dress for such an event, and there was still a Hogsmeade weekend coming up before the ball. She'd invited Hermione and Ginny to go as well so that they could all approve each other's dresses. The other girls were apprehensive to be going with Fleur, but Rosie was beginning to like the French champion.

The stupid ball had been causing her almost as much anxiety as the first task. In fact, it felt almost as though it should count as the second task. After the dress problem was sorted, the date problem began. Cedric stood in front of her, his eyes hopeful as he asked Rose to attend the ball with him.

"I just… I know we're not exactly together right now Rose, but I still care about you, a lot. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather go with."

She wanted to cry. "Ced… I… I don't think I can. I'm so sorry."

"What? Why?" He looked hurt.

"Because I don't want to feel this way Cedric. I don't want to feel like everyone's going to be staring all night wondering what kind of pathetic little thing I am to go back to you after…"

"Seriously Rose?" He cut her off. "You're going to let what people will say affect your decision? I didn't think you were like that."

"Oh, Shut up. You can be such a jerk sometimes Ced. For your information, I've been dealing with people's stares, whispers, and rumors all year long. Everyone already looks at me and the first thing they think about is Lockhart. So, excuse me for not wanting to attract more negative attention. Maybe if you hadn't fucked the head girl behind my back, things would be different!"

Rosie was getting riled up now.

"Will you get over it Rose!? Honestly, it was one time, and I was pissed. I already told you it wouldn't happen again."

"But it did happen! It happened and everyone knows about it!"

"Whose fault is that?!" He countered.

"I said no Ced. I don't know what we are right now… but we're not together, and I have no obligation to go with you. Please, just find someone else. I'm sorry."

"Who else am I supposed to go with Rose? I want to go with you."

"You know what Ced? Why don't you just go with her? Go with fucking Meadow. I can't do this."

"Don't say that Rose, please, c'mon, you're the only one I want."

"I don't believe you." She choked.

"Hey. Don't talk that way." His voice dropped lower. "Honestly, I love you. You're the only one I see, the only one I look at. What happened with Meadow was a mistake. I know it and she does too. I want you back."

"Ced…I'm not ready."

The boy moved closer, cupping his hand around her elbow softly and drawing Rosie in. He sighed.

"Alright. We can go separately if that makes you feel better. I just want you to be happy… If that's what it takes, then fine, but will you at least save a dance for me?"

She nodded, letting her head hang. "I'm really sorry Ced, I just need more time. Can't we just be friends for a while? No strings, no sex, just friends? Then maybe we can see… after the ball, after the next task?"

The boy's face fell, and he grimaced, but he agreed. Rosie pulled him into a hug, pressing her face into his chest and inhaling his scent. She really did want to go with him, but the wounds were still so fresh.

Rose turned to leave, and her eyes widened as she spun around and realized that they had an audience. Professor McGonagall and Moony were standing off the side frowning. Shit. She'd been so carried away that Rosie had forgotten about her lesson with Moony. Cedric cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagall." He began.

Moony had a look on his face that she seldom saw… it was the same expression he used when assigning detention.

"Mr. Diggory." He nodded curtly. That nod told Rosie exactly how long they'd been standing there.

"Moony, I'm so sorry, I forgot about our lesson."

Her guardian's frown lifted the moment she spoke. "Not to worry sweet pea, there's still time."

Professor McGonagall, who had thus far been silent, opened her mouth and turned to Ced.

"Mr. Diggory, I do believe that there are some prefects over in the second-floor corridor in need of instruction, if you would be so kind." Her voice was sharp.

Cedric grimaced again and shot her one last pained expression before scampering off.

Rosie fiddled awkwardly with her hair. The professor tried to smile gently at her. "Miss Potter, I do hope you are well."

"I'm alright Professor. Thank you."

Moony motioned then for her to follow him. He did not speak as they walked until he was sure that there was nobody around.

"I had heard of your break up with Cedric from Sirius of course, but I wasn't aware of the specifics." He began.

Rosie's stomach turned in knots. "Severus found them together." Her eyes were stinging now.

"Oh sweetie." The werewolf sighed as they arrived at the training room. "I'm so sorry. You must be feeling so confused."

That was the last straw. She turned to him and her composure snapped.

"Oh Moony. I don't know what to do! I don't even want to go to this dumb ball, and I did want to go with Cedric. I love him, honest, but I just can't. I can't because of stupid Meadow. I'm so jealous. Every time I see her my chest hurts, and I feel bad about myself. Maybe if I were prettier, or less messed up, or happier…he wouldn't've."

Her guardian stopped her. "Honey. I wish you wouldn't say things like that. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on." He soothed, pulling her into him.

"You're just saying that." She sobbed.

"I would never lie to you Princess. Nobody should ever make you feel bad about who you are."

"Just… don't hate Cedric, please. I'm not an innocent bystander in all of this, I've done things too. We're just, having a rough time right now."

Moony sighed. "I know Rose. You are very rarely… an innocent bystander. I'm not naïve, but you must understand. I only want to see you content. It hurts me to see you hurting."

She bit her lip. "Let's just forget about it, ok? I'm not going to the ball with Ced, so now I have to find someone else to go with, which is stressful enough, and to top it all off, I can't dance. Like not even a little bit."

The corners of Moony mouth turned up slightly. "Well… I think that I might be able to help you with that part at least." He smiled.

"Wait… you can dance?" Her eyes widened.

He winked. "Go turn on the record player."

Rosie hurried over to do as he said. When she returned, Moony did a little bow and held out his hand. She giggled and took it.

"May I have this dance?" He asked smoothly.

"Mmm, a gentleman. Why are you my godfather again?" Rose teased.

"Love, I must be frank with you. That was the least seductive phrase I've ever heard." His eyes were alight with mirth.

"Prat!" she nudged him.

Moony put his hand on her waist, and she put hers on his shoulder. He taught her first the basic steps for a waltz.

"Could James dance?" Rosie asked as they waltzed.

"James? Oh yes. He and Sirius both were excellent dancers. All pureblood raised boys are."

She smiled. "Moony, can I ask you something?"

"I believe you just did." He taunted.

"That was such a dad joke."

"I thought it was quite funny."

Rosie stuck her tongue out.

"What was your question dear?"

"Erm… do you think he would be cross with me for having other… father figures?" She tried to word the question carefully.

Moony paused, slowing his step.

"You are wondering because of Severus?" He clarified.

"Well, yeah Severus, but you too. I mean, I would definitely consider you to be…like that for me."

For a moment, something passed across her guardian's face, perhaps the ghost of a smile, and then he became serious once again.

"Darling, your father wouldn't be…cross. He loved you fiercely, and I know that he wouldn't want you to suffer. However, knowing him as I did, I can't say that he wouldn't be, possibly, a little…jealous perhaps."

"Jealous?"

"Well, it should not come as a surprise that he expected and intended to raise you and be that figure in your life. Obviously, he did not get the chance to do that, so yes, I think he would be jealous. I'm one hundred percent positive that that would not translate into any ill will towards you though princess."

Rosie frowned. "Sometimes I worry about that."

"Which part honey?" Moony twirled her.

"That he would be mad at me for loving Severus."

Her guardian exhaled, pulling her back as they resumed the dance. "No Rosie. He would never be mad at you."

"He would be angry with Severus though, wouldn't he?" She prodded.

"I wish I could give you an answer to that my girl, but you have to understand… at that time, if somebody were to have told James that he would die, and that Severus would raise you…it would have been completely unthinkable."

"Because he was a death eater?"

"That…yes, but he and James, they were bitter enemies sweet pea. They really were. It wasn't like you and Draco Malfoy, it was on a different level than that. Severus was… unpleasant, to say the least, and your father was a hot head."

Her stomach turned in knots. "Severus said…nevermind."

Moony pursued his lips. "What did Severus say?" Rosie could tell he was working to keep his voice neutral.

"He said that you guys were bullies, well, not _you_ exactly… but James and Sirius."

He stopped dancing.

"I see." Moony sighed. Then he wrapped his arms around her tightly and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I wish that I could just wash away all the sins of the past for you sweetheart, I really do."

"So, they were bullies then?"

She could tell that he was reluctant to speak. "There was a lot of bad blood. James and Sirius did specifically target Severus, and Severus did retaliate. Sometimes, your father…could get a bit out of hand."

Rosie was silent for a long time.

"I was bullied, a lot."

Moony broke the embrace and pulled back to look at her.

"Dudley and his friends… they used to chase me around and beat me up, call me names. Sometimes, they would hold me to the ground and force me to…say bad things about my parents before they would let me up. They teased me for having only the ugly clothes that Aunt Petunia bought from the second-hand shop."

Her guardian did not seem to know what to say. His face held a seemingly permanent frown.

"Sometimes…sometimes I wonder, if my mom and Severus were really friends… why she would have chosen to be with someone who hurt him like that. I mean, I would be pretty hurt if Ginny started dating Dudley."

Rosie could tell that she was testing the limits of Moony's composure at that point.

"Severus was not an innocent victim." He replied, his voice taking on a hard quality to it.

"Neither was I." She shrugged. "I used to lash out at Dudley sometimes."

Moony snapped. "Honey. Please. I wish that I could fix this for you, you have no idea how much… but I can't lie to you. What I can tell you is that your father loved you more than anything else in the world. He would have done anything for you. He also loved your mother and she loved him. Nothing is ever perfect, but despite the war, they were deliriously happy. James Potter was one of my dearest friends, and he grew up to be a great man. I promise you that."

There were tears brimming in her eyes now. Rosie bet that Piers would say the same thing about Dudley when they were older too. She bet that Aunt Marge would say that Uncle Vernon was a good man. Rose even knew that some people still swore up and down that Lockhart was a hero.

"Please don't hate me Moony. I'm sorry for asking." She stuttered, hiding her face. Rose could not stand the thought of her guardian being upset with her.

He seemed to take a moment to regroup and then pried her hands away from her face.

"No, my sweet girl., I'm sorry. I was never given lessons one how to do this. I'm really trying to find a middle ground here because I don't want to damage the way that you see your father, and I also do not wish to insult Severus to you."

Rosie nodded. "Let's just dance again." She suggested. "I really need to learn how to dance."

Moony kissed her forehead. "Alright my love."

She began to tell him about the upcoming dress shopping excursion, and he tried to suggest a few people that Rose could go to the ball with. Of course, being Moony, he picked a handful of the least appealing people in Gryffindor house. There was nothing wrong with Neville, Fred or George, Colin Creevey, or Oliver Wood apart from the fact that they did not quite give off the vibe she was looking for. She wanted Ced to be jealous like she was.

Telling him about Malfoy wouldn't do a damn thing because he'd just be grossed out by her. Rose wanted to go with someone who would make him squirm like she did every time Meadow walked by.

Remus left the lesson with his goddaughter perturbed. He was concerned that Rose's relationship with James, or lack thereof, was due in part to the rivalry between he and Severus, especially now that she could see the aftershocks of that rivalry in Severus and Sirius.

Instead of heading home, he walked down to the dungeons. It was never pleasant discussing anything with Snape, but for Rose's sake, he had to try. He knocked on the door lightly, and waited to be permitted entry, which was a courtesy that the other man would not have afforded him. Snape always seemed to have an endless stack of papers to be marked.

"Severus. Hello." He greeted.

The man just sneered in his direction. Remus could not understand for the life of him how sweet Rosie was able to suck affection out of the ex-death eater.

"What is it Lupin?" He said impatiently.

"I wanted to discuss Rose with you Severus. I have noticed a disturbing trend with her."

"If it is the fact that she seems to have a masochistic desire to inflict Cedric Diggory upon herself, or that she is hell bent on remaining in a constant state of emotional turmoil, then I am already aware."

"No, it's something else. Tonight, in her lesson, she was asking me questions about her father, and it did not go very well."

The man raised his eyes, and expression of boredom on his face.

"This is my issue because…?"

"I think that she has some conflicted feelings about him that stem from you, and I would like you to talk with her about it."

"I do not discuss Potter with Rose."

"Yes, I'm saying that perhaps you should." Remus insisted.

Snape sighed. "What exactly has she said?"

"Aside from referring to him exclusively as James, she has now equated the bullying that she suffered at the hands of her cousin, with her father's treatment of you."

"And the problem is?" Snape asked lazily.

"Severus. She told me she worries that James would be upset with her because she loves you. Rose is very disturbed by the enmity between you and him. She actually asked me why her mother would choose to be with James if he treated you the way that he did."

The potions master's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "I cannot force Rose to see things differently. As I said, I do not discuss Potter with the girl. It is not my fault that she has come to such negative conclusions."

"I think that you need to give her permission to love her father Severus." He said bluntly.

Now the man appeared shocked. "You dare suggest that I would tell that child not to form an attachment to her father? She does not need my _permission._ "

"That is your perspective, but I think that _she_ feels that she needs your permission. I'd imagine that if she is worried her father would be cross with her for loving you, that she probably feels that you would be displeased if she expressed love for James.

"Did she use those words?" Severus scowled.

"Not exactly no, but you should see how she is when you aren't around. Rose is so…protective of you. She gets very defensive. Sirius cannot say a word against you around the house without her reacting. Obviously, she would be affected by your hatred of her father, even if you do not outright discuss it."

The potions master rubbed his face and sighed. "I will rouse the issue with her." He conceded.

"That's all I ask. Thank you, Severus."

Rosie did a little twirl, showing off the dress that Ginny had picked off the shelf for her.

"Oooh… Rose it's so sexy!"

It was indeed. The dress was backless, with a plunging neckline. It hugged her body very nicely.

"Yeah, Gin, it is, but I don't think that it would match Severus' cape, which is exactly what I'll be wearing if I show up to the ball in this." Rosie said dryly.

"That's what I said." Hermione interjected. "Try my pick now!"

The dress that Mione had chosen would be appropriate for Rose, if she were joining a convent. Severus would love it. It had a high neckline, long sleeves, and flared out at her waist, leaving absolutely everything to the imagination.

"I don't zink zat zis is exactly ze dress for you Rose." Fleur jumped in. Hermione glared.

"Well. I don't think that Rose needs to walk around with everything hanging out either." Her friend snapped.

"I did not say zat she needed to do zat. Ze idea iz to be subtle but sexy. For example, look at zis dress." Fleur motioned. "It is understated in ze arms but hugs ze chest nicely. Here, it extends only just above 'er navel, and zen 'ou can zee a bit of stomach. Zen, ze skirt is flattering. I zink you should try on zis one Rose."

As it turned out, Fleur had been right. The dress was a midnight blue, which contrasted nicely with her skin and made her eyes pop. It was a two piece. The top had sleeves, and was tight, but covered in patterned lace. The skirt flowed down just above her bellybutton, so that a tiny flash of stomach was showing, creating just a touch of sex appeal. Severus would still hate it, but he probably wouldn't try to cover her with his cloak if she wore this one. Rose resolved to buy Fleur's pick. It went nicely with her locket too, which was important. There was no way that she wasn't taking her mother to the ball with her.

Ginny, who was too young to attend alone but was invited by Dean, chose a shorter dress, in white and green. It went very nicely with her red hair. Hermione would wear pink. Rosie thought that with a little smoothening charm for her curls, Mione could steal the show. She looked very pretty.

As the girls walked back from the village, Fleur discussed in detail exactly what she planned to do with Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw boy who had invited her, causing Mione to blush and Ginny's eyes to go wide. Rosie enjoyed it. Fleur had a lot of interesting tips. Hermione, who had bucked up the courage to have sex with Ron, was reluctant to discuss how it went, but she did say that it wasn't as painful as she had thought. Poor Ginny was thoroughly disturbed as she listened to the brief account. Dean was not pressuring her, but she had always been precocious, and caught up in the moment with the other girls, her redheaded friend seemed inclined to follow suit the night of the Yule Ball. She made Mione swear not to tell Ron.

The only issue was that Rosie still did not have a date, and the ball was only a couple weeks away. Ced was going to go with Heidi Macavoy, a chaser on the Hufflepuff quidditch team. He knew better than to actually go with Meadow. In fact, he seemed to know exactly what he should do to regain Rosie's favor because Heidi, sweet as she was, did not make her jealous at all. Resigning herself to keep waiting, Rosie allowed herself to enjoy the time with her girlfriends and Fleur.


	69. Chapter 69

Severus had sent Rosie off on the train home for the holidays promising that he would show up on Christmas. The full moon had been the night before and Moony was so weak he couldn't apparate to King's Cross, so Sirius came to get her.

"Sirius!" She bounded over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She'd been having lessons twice a week with Moony and once a week with Sirius since the first task, so she'd been seeing her ex-godfather less.

"Heya Rosie!" He beamed, spinning her around as he often did. "How are ya?"

"Mm. Better now." She responded, her chin resting on his shoulder.

He pulled away and winked. "Diggory still given' you a hard time?"

"Yup. Pretty much every day. I finally found a date to that blasted ball though."

"Ohhh, do tell. Who'll be moved to this top of Snape's hit list this holiday season?"

"Siri don't." Rosie whined.

"I'm just kidding. Who is it?"

"Ok, if I tell you, you actually can't tell Severus. He is gonna kill me."

"Oh god, you're not going with the Malfoy kid, are you?"

"No, he's got a girlfriend remember?"

"Right. Well then...spill."

"I'm kinda going with Krum." She said awkwardly, fiddling with her hair.

Sirius' eyes widened. "Like Viktor Krum? The world-famous seeker?"

"Er… yes that one."

"Good god, you sure do know how to pick'em don't you." He rubbed his face. "Isn't Krum like twenty-five?"

"He's eighteen Siri. Only a year older than Ced. Please please don't mention it to Severus though."

"When have you ever seen me talk to Snape on purpose?"

"Ugh, thank you. I do not want to wind up going with Neville."

"Wait…if Ol'Snapey told you no, you wouldn't go with Krum?"

"Probably not, which is why he can't find out until it's too late."

"You're so weird Rosie." Siri groaned then. "This is a revenge thing isn't it? You're just out to make Diggory jealous…"

"I would never do something like that." Rosie said, her voice laced with mock seriousness, eyes wide and innocent.

"Sweet Merlin, you just sounded so much like your dad there for a second." Sirius shook his head smiling.

"Really?"

"You have no idea honey, but different at the same time… you know like James but…"

"With a vagina?" Rosie filled in.

Sirius coughed. "That wasn't exactly what I was going to say… but yeah, I guess. You're girl James."

"Not quite." Rose corrected. "I have much nicer hair than he did."

"Well, you're not wrong there."

"Hmm, who was more attractive? You or him?"

"Was? Hey you're so mean!"

"Well I can't very well judge you and him side by side _now._ "

"You little…" Siri didn't finish his sentence, instead, he wrapped his arms around her, pivoted, and apparated them into Moony's cottage with one smooth spin. He caught her as they landed, and his fingers moved instantly to her sides, digging into her ribs, and causing Rose to double over in a fit of laughter.

"Siri stoooop!" She wailed, tears brimming in her eyes as he tickled her.

"You take it back!" He commanded playfully.

"N…noo!"

His fingers found the backs of her knees and Rosie fell to the floor, writhing under his touch. "You're gonna make me pee myself Siri, stop!"

"Not until you admit it was a lie!"

"Fine! Fine, you're very handsome, much handsomer than James." She cried and he let her go.

Rosie opened her eyes to see Moony staring down at them, face straining to maintain a grin. Sirius rolled over and held out his hand to help her up. She found her way into Moony's arms and he laughed against her.

"Don't be too offended Padfoot, it's just her Oedipus complex talking, of course she would find James more attractive."

Rosie gasped. "Moony, you traitor!"

"Hello Princess." He smiled.

Her face softened, as it always did when Moony was around. "Hey." She grinned. "You should lie down."

"I'm alright sweet pea."

"No, lay down, I'll make you some tea." Rose insisted, directing him onto the couch. She held her hand to his forehead, making sure he didn't have a temperature, and fixed a pillow under his neck.

"You're such a little mother Rose. It'll be weird to see you with kids of your own one day."

Rosie made a face. "I'll stick to dogs.

"Really? I would've thought you'd want that."

"Why? So that I can die and fuck them up too? I'll pass."

"Honey." Moony admonished.

"I'm just going to live with you forever and ever." She patted his head. "Plus, somebody has to take care of Severus."

"Well, fine then. I'm not going to argue that." The corner of his mouth turned up and he lay back against the pillow.

"So, I just happened to notice that there is no Christmas tree here…" Rose changed the subject. "I want one."

"You do?" Moony frowned. "I'm sorry darling, I didn't even think about it." Then her guardian looked beyond her, and his face contorted in laughter.

"Honey, I think Sirius wants to take you out to find one."

Sure enough, when Rosie turned around, the other man was practically bouncing on the couch behind her.

"Oooh, can we? I've never cut down my own Christmas tree!" She squealed.

"Yeah but you can't use magic outside of the house. I'll have to do it Rosie."

She smiled. "Well, we could always buy an axe."

"A what?"

Sirius only protested a little when Rose dragged him to the store where Moony worked to pick out an axe. His eyes widened at the sight of her holding the weapon.

"Rosie…precious… are you sure we need that thing?"

"Positive." She winked. "Don't worry, I used to chop wood for the fire at the Dursleys all the time."

"Your relatives gave you one of these things when you were a child…?"

"Well they sure as hell weren't gonna do it." She waved it off.

When they got up to the register to pay, the person working must have recognized Sirius because he smiled. "So, you must be the daughter that Remus is so fond of. Rose is it?"

Pride swelled in Rosie's chest and her eyes stung. She'd never been anyone's daughter before.

"That's me. Nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand.

As they left, she had to wipe her eyes with her coat sleeve, trying to hide the tears. Sirius was unfortunately very observant, and he stopped her.

"Heya, Rosie, what's wrong?" He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry. I…I've never been called that before. I'm just really happy."

His eyes widened and then his mouth turned down. "That's really sad hon." Sirius choked, he looked like he might start crying too.

"Let's go chop down a tree." She shot him a watery smile.

He draped his arm over her and sighed.

The novelty faded as they tramped through the snowy forest, feet cold and wet, and lungs on fire. "I think we're out of shape Siri." She exhaled, coming up behind him.

"Ya think? Twelve years in prison will do that to a person."

"Tell me about it." Rosie concurred.

Sirius shot her a strange look, and then motioned for her to get on his back.

"Wait, your actually gonna carry me?" She giggled.

"Quickly before you make me change my mind."

Rose ambled over to him and climbed onto his back. Siri was so strange, but she was tired, so she wasn't going to refuse. He brought them deeper into the woods, and the made commentary on several trees as they went, but the conversation quickly turned to other subjects.

"You know, I really hate the bloody cold." Sirius began.

"I can imagine…" She breathed. "I fell off my broom, two hundred feet in the air when those fucking things came close to me. I wouldn't last two minutes in Azkaban."

"You did?" His voice was surprised.

"Yup. I didn't have any memories of my own… of what happened with Lockhart until I met the dementors."

"Oh man… I never thought about how you got the memories back."

"Yeah, the best Severus could do for me was collect his thoughts, but it wasn't even close to the same as actually remembering." Her tone was soft and cautious.

"I always saw… your dad, you know, all dead and such. I was there that night. I went into the house after you survived. I was gonna take you, until Hagrid showed up."

"Talk about a series of shitty choices." Rosie commented.

She could almost feel him cringe. "No Siri, I just meant, you would've suffered a lot less. I'm not mad at you for that…"

"You had it pretty rough at that Dursley place, didn't you?" He interjected.

"Meh. It doesn't matter. Really. I'm not there anymore."

"Your uncle never like… did anything to you? Did he?"

"Oh gross, no, nothing like that." She shuddered. "He was a real mean drunk, but he never touched me like that. I didn't know what any of that stuff was until Lockhart."

"God, and nobody noticed that shit for half a year? Really?"

Rosie sighed. "Nope. I will never forget how uncomfortable it was to have Severus give me the sex talk." She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah… that sounds… awful. No wonder you're like this." He shook his head.

"Like what?"

"You know, all submissive and stuff."

"I'm not always like that."

"I know, but you are when it counts and that's the scary part."

"Yeah. You fucking scared me to death Sirius. You changed my boggart, from a dementor. That means I'm more afraid of myself than the literal definition of fear."

"Well good. I'm glad you're taking what I said to heart."

"I am… I've been doing a lot of thinking."

"About what?"

"How much of a git you are." She leaned forward, whispering in his ear."

"Brat." He growled, and pulled her off of his back, tossing her playfully into the snow. Sirius began to make snowballs, aiming them at her head, and dodging the ones that she retaliated with.

It took a while, but they did finally locate an appropriately sized tree. It took even longer for Rose to convince Siri to let her use the axe, and then it took at least another half an hour for them to decide how to use the axe to chop down a tree. When they did return to Moony's cottage, their faces were pink, and their ears were numb. Her godfather had mustered up enough strength to make them all hot chocolate, and they spent the rest of the evening setting up the tree and decorating it.

On Christmas morning, Moony was not the one to rouse Rosie, instead, she awoke to the sound of Padfoot scratching at her door.

"Hey Sweetie." She sighed blearily, motioning for him to jump up on the bed. Sirius was a lot more docile as a dog. Padfoot lay down beside her on his back, legs in the air, and turned his head to face her. His tongue lolled out lazily and he shut his eyes.

"Merry Christmas weirdo." Rosie giggled as she began to scratch his belly.

They must have fallen asleep again, because when Rose awoke next, it was not to Moony, but to Severus. He stood over her bed glaring down at Padfoot. Excitement bubbled in her chest. It was such a rare treat to have everyone she loved in the same place.

"Severus!" Rosie shot out of bed, wrapping her arms around the man, a smile on her face.

Padfoot woke up too and growled when he noticed the potions master.

"I was under the impression that you slept alone." Severus drawled, still appraising Sirius intently over her shoulder.

"Relax Severus, he's a dog."

"No, he is not." Her guardian grumbled, as she reached back to pat the canine's head, and began to pull the dour man from the room.

Moony was making breakfast, and he kissed her as she descended the stairs.

"Merry Christmas Princess." He whispered, winking at her, and turned back to the food.

The tree looked very pretty, and there were presents stacked under it. This was Rosie's third Christmas receiving presents, and she quite enjoyed it.

"I missed you Severus." She spoke, smiling at her first guardian.

"Indeed. It has been a quiet holiday."

That was Severus speak for he missed her too.

He had taken a spot on the couch and was sitting stiffly, his face hard and uncomfortable. He was _so_ awkward. Rosie wasn't going to let him sit alone, so she sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Severus usually relaxed just a tiny bit more if she acted as his human contact shield.

Sirius came sauntering down the stairs a moment later, pulling a shirt over his head, and yawning.

"Morning Moony, Prongslet, Snivellus." He greeted, wrinkling his nose.

Rosie hissed from her spot on the couch. He knew she hated that name. It was thanks to that horrible nickname that Rose was getting better every lesson at throwing off the Imperius curse. Sirius was hard pressed to get her to say it.

Moony shot a warning look towards her ex-godfather and ushered him into the kitchen to help with the food.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like being here." She apologized softly.

"It is of no consequence." He replied. "If you wish me to be here, I will stay."

"You're such a martyr." Rosie teased, but then looked at him seriously. "I really do appreciate it though. I haven't had a lot of good Christmases."

He nodded.

"Plus, I think this might be my last holiday ever, because, nobody knows what that stupid egg is screeching about yet."

"Do not speak that way. You must ask the other champions again."

"Trust me Severus, Ced would do anything to get in my pants again right now. He would tell me, and Fleur owes me one. I'm also reasonably sure that Viktor would give me a clue at least. Nobody knows."

The potions master cringed. "I rather despise listening to you describe your relationships. I was not aware that you were on a first name basis with Mr. Krum."

Of course, Sirius chose that moment to walk into the room. "Oh, I think they're on a first name basis." He smirked devilishly.

Rosie froze. He was such a git. The Yule Ball was that evening, and he knew that Severus wouldn't have time to find her another partner by then, except maybe Neville.

Her guardian turned sharply to look at her. "What exactly is Black insinuating?"

She flushed and turned away. "He is not insinuating anything. Right Sirius?"

"No of course not Rosie dearest." The man replied mechanically.

Severus growled. "Rose Potter, you will clarify this instant the nature of your relationship with Viktor Krum."

Glaring at Sirius, who was trying to muffle his laughter, Rosie sighed.

"It's nothing Severus. We're just going to the ball together. That's all."

He stilled.

"Absolutely not. I forbid it." Severus snapped, his face contorting in anger.

"You can't stop me Severus. I can't go with Cedric and he's the one who asked. I'm going with Viktor."

"You are not going with Mr. Krum."

"Why not? Who am I supposed to go with then? You know I have to dance in front of everyone right?!"

"It is not appropriate. You will just have to find someone else."

"The ball is tonight! I'm asking Moony." She huffed, glaring at him.

"Ask your wolf all you want, but I am saying no."

"Tell me why Severus? Why do you want me to be miserable? I don't want to go with Neville. He'll step on my toes and he'll be too scared to put his hand on my waist!"

"Rose. Listen to me. Viktor Krum is not a boy. He is a man. He is far too old for you. You are not going to the ball with him."

"He's only one year older than Ced!"

"Yes, and we have long established my feelings regarding Mr. Diggory. I will not have it. You will go with Longbottom."

Rosie bared down. "I'm going with him and you can't stop me. What's the problem? It's just a dance."

"Somehow, I do not believe you. Look me in the eyes and swear that you do not intend to sleep with Krum in some elaborate scheme to get revenge on Diggory."

She turned away. That was exactly her intention and he knew it. "So what if I do? What does it matter? It's just sex."

Severus closed his eyes in frustration. "Child. You should not be using sex as a tool to manipulate others."

"Why?"

The potions master growled and clenched his fist as though he might hit something.

"Rose. I told you no. You will respect my wishes."

I'm going to go with Viktor."

"Rose Lily Potter, do not defy me."

"Severus, you're being a dick. Stop. It's my right to decide who I go with."

Her guardian's voice dropped now into a lower register, his tone biting.

"Fine. Go with him then, but when you are scared, and you don't feel like such an adult anymore, don't come crying to me."

"Why are you being so mean?" Rosie's voice cracked. She didn't like it when Severus got mad like this.

"Because I am trying to protect you child."

"Well stop! I don't need protection. You guys all think I'm so weak and I'm tired of it! I'm not going to break!"

"I do not think that you are weak. My fear is that others are too strong."

That made Rose shiver. "Please don't fight with me Severus. I promise I'll tell you if he tries to do anything that I don't want."

"I do not trust you to follow through with that Rose. How many people have hurt you that I do not have any idea about? Do enlighten me."

"I don't wanna talk about this." Rosie dug in her heels.

"Of course not. Which is exactly why my answer remains no."

"You can't do that Severus. You're not my father."

"A fact I am most acutely aware of." He drawled again. "If it is your father's opinion that you desire, then I suggest you ask your dogs."

"I hate you!" Rosie growled, spinning around to push his arm away.

Sirius scoffed. "It's a Christmas miracle."

"Sirius." Moony chided, coming into the room. He must have heard them arguing.

"Sorry, I'm just proud of our Rosie here for putting Sniv in his place."

The potions master seemed to be on the verge of a particularly nasty glare when Rose interjected.

"Don't use that bloody nickname Sirius. You know I don't like it."

"Hey! I thought we hated Snape now."

"I'm just mad at him ok? That doesn't mean you get to call him that!"

Sirius shook his head. "You're worse than your mother."

Rosie growled and Moony stepped in. "Alright honey, why don't we sit down to eat."

"Not until Severus gives me permission."

The potions master rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "Rose. If it is permission you desire, you will not receive it. That is the end of this discussion."

"Severus, can we revisit this subject later?" Moony exhaled.

"Stay out of it Lupin."

"Please Severus… please please please." She looked up at him with her eyes wide and her bottom lip stuck out.

"Child, you are testing my patience."

"So, let me. You know I can't if you say no. Don't make me go with Neville, please. I'll do anything. Just let me have this. It's not even a given that I'll sleep with him, he'd have to agree."

"Oh yes, what a difficult task that will be to accomplish."

"This is a really weird conversation." Sirius pointed out.

"Yeah well, that's what happens when I have the sex police following me around all the time." Rosie snarled at Severus.

"Perhaps, you would not be under suspicion if you chose people your own age to pursue."

"What's the difference Severus? Honestly. Count your blessings that I'm not after my professors, or Moony. Do you know how sweet Moony is? He would make a great lover."

Her guardian choked and coughed from the couch. "Um, Rosie, my love, please do not ever say that again."

"I'm sorry Moony, I have boundary issues."

"Rose. This is not a joke. It is not humorous. You should not speak this way, and you will not be attending the ball with Viktor Krum."

"Urghhh, you are just the worst Severus! This is so embarrassing, I've already told him yes."

"Then tell him no. You will go with Longbottom."

"Fine, but I'm gonna have sex with someone really weird at the ball and you're gonna regret this. I'll sleep with Malfoy, or Goyle."

Sirius let out a snort of laughter.

Severus' eyes widened. "You will do no such thing."

"Then let me go with Viktor. Please. C'mon, I'll be with Ginny and Hermione for most of the time anyways."

Her guardian sighed long and low. "Do what you wish Rose, but like I said, do not come crying to me."

Breakfast was a silent affair after that. Rosie was glaring at Sirius, who was locked in a staring match with Severus as Moony tried to conduct damage control.

Rose stuck out her bottom lip and rested her chin on her hands. "Why can't everybody just get along?" She tried. "I feel like I have to pick sides. I won't sleep with stupid Viktor if we can just have a good Christmas. Please?"

Moony looked up towards Severus sharply. They seemed to be having a silent conversation. After a moment, Severus sighed, and Moony grasped her shoulders in his hands.

"Let's open presents. Shall we sweet pea?"

When they were all seated around the tree, Rosie looked for the gifts that she'd gotten for them. It had been easy to buy for Moony and Sirius. They liked everything. She'd gotten Moony some books and a new cloak, and for Sirius, she'd contracted the twins to make some special pranking supplies, and she'd purchased tickets to another quidditch game in the summer.

Severus was the tricky one. He hated everything. It wasn't like he needed potions ingredients, and Rosie imagined that he would be disgusted if she tried to buy him an item of clothing that wasn't black. She resolved instead to get him a much simpler gift.

The potions master raised an eyebrow when she handed him the tiny package. It was thin and delicate. He apparently hadn't been expecting anything. Carefully, and with nimble fingers, he pried open the paper and his lips parted ever so slightly as he took in her gift.

Rosie had asked Colin Creevey to follow her with his camera one day when she'd gone down to meet Severus in the dungeons. The photograph was a magical one. It depicted her, leaping forward and catching the potions master in a hug. She had purposefully turned her head towards the camera, laying it against her guardian's chest in that moment and grinning widely. She'd put it in a tiny silver frame, and on the back had engraved,

 _Rosie and Severus. Family means that nobody gets left behind or forgotten._

Rose had stolen the quote from a muggle children's movie that she'd watched at Ms. Figg's house once. Severus did not speak, and Moony and Sirius were staring at him uncomfortably, so Rosie moved closer and nuzzled at his shoulder with her head until he slid an arm around her small form.

"Thank you, child." He breathed softly.


	70. Chapter 70

**AN- So I usually try and keep Rosie's appearance and clothing very vague, so that you can just imagine her how you want, but I'll leave a web address below so that you can check out my inspiration for her Yule Ball dress if you're interested, just the dress style not the model- Meg**

 **media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/-/a-line-o-neck-lace-crop-top-satin-skirt-sheer-long-sleeve-navy-blue-two-piece-prom-dress-wnpd0527_**

Severus had left around noon to help the rest of the staff prepare for the ball. He had still been furious that she'd hid her _affiliation_ , as he'd called it, with Viktor, but her present had softened him. Sirius had been tasked with helping her prepare for the ball, because he was the one with the hair styling charms. Moony sat on the sofa reading the paper as Siri charmed her dark hair into soft waves. Rosie, who reserved her tiny collection of makeup for nights such as these, painted her face as she had the day that she'd confronted Cedric, and when evening came, she slipped into her dress. Satisfied with the way she looked, Rose came out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

Moony, who was waiting to see her in the sitting room stood up and his eyes went wide. "Oh, my love. You look absolutely…wow. Severus has one hell of a job to do tonight." He sighed as he motioned her forward.

Rosie gave him a big hug, and he twirled her in a circle. "Don't forget all those moves I taught you princess." The werewolf winked.

She hadn't wanted to floo to Hogwarts, because she didn't want to mess up her outfit, so Sirius had promised to apparate her. When he came in from the kitchen, he stopped dead, and his mouth dropped open.

"Nope. I'm not gonna say a thing. Nuh uh." Siri shook his head. "Ready to go kid?"

She took his arm, he did his little spin, and they appeared at the apparition point just outside of the Hogwarts gates. There were others arriving at the same time, people who had, like Rosie, chosen to go home for the holidays. Sirius raised an eyebrow when he noticed Krum standing over by the gate waiting for her.

"You know, I try to be your friend Prongslet, but shit, be careful ok? God, couldn't you have been born a boy?"

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not." She bit her lip.

"Your dad would kill me. He'd crucio me for letting you walk out the door like that."

"Well. That's just sexist. My dead father does not get to decide how I dress. How would you suggest I leave the house?" She glared.

"Wearing a sac, preferably."

Rosie hit his arm. "Oh, give it up Siri!"

"I know I know, it's fine, go away. We'll see you later tonight." He smirked, as he apparated away.

She moved into Viktor's path and he spotted her, smiling.

"Hello Rose." He greeted, kissing her hand. Her legs were already jelly. "You look very beautiful."

Her date led her into the castle, interlocking their arms. In the entryway, she was met by Ginny and Dean, and Hermione and Ron. Poor Ron was wearing horrifically ugly dress robes, and next to Hermione, he kinda looked like a troll. Her curly haired friend did not seem to mind though, after all, she had fallen for the redheaded boy presumably for a different reason.

Dean was very handsome, and Ginny looked lovely as well. Her eyes fixed into a glare when she caught sight of Rose. "Oh, I hate you." Ginny growled playfully. "You don't even bloody try and… look at you."

"Hm, yes well, what I wouldn't do for red hair." Rosie responded, curling a finger in Ginny's fiery locks. She remembered vividly her best friend's conviction that she would lose her virginity that night and wondered if Dean was aware of this plan.

They all loitered outside until Professor McGonagall came through to collect the champions. Viktor seemed to be having a rousing conversation with Hermione about something, which Ron did not like at all. He was glaring. Rosie might have been jealous, had her eyes not been following Ced from the moment he walked through the door. Viktor was extremely attractive. He made her weak in the knees, but he didn't do anything for her heart, which began to flutter the moment she caught sight of the Hufflepuff boy.

They walked into the great hall arm and arm behind Cedric and Heidi. Fleur followed with Roger Davies, and they started to dance. It was nerve wracking. Everyone had their eyes trained on the three couples, and Rosie could already feel Severus' glare.

Viktor took her waist expertly and led her around with as much finesse as Moony, but with a bit less love. He was tall, as tall as the potions master was, but larger somehow, with broad shoulders and a sort of…brutish appearance. His dark eyes studied her intently, and when others began to join them on the dance floor, he slowed his motions and reached forward, taking her locket in between his finger.

"Vot is your second name?" He questioned, referring to the L, engraving.

"It's Lily. Rose Lily, for my mother."

"Very pretty. You are a flower."

His accent was deep and husky. As they danced, he spoke of Durmstrang, and the competition. Rosie wasn't listening much. She had her eyes trained on Ced, over Krum's shoulder. He was laughing about something with Heidi, but his gaze kept falling back towards her. Every once and a while, her eyes moved to her guardian, who seemed to be laboring under the impression that his stare could serve as a chastity belt if it was deep and penetrating enough.

As the night descended upon them, Rose and Viktor broke apart, moving to dance with other people and rejoin their respective friend groups for a while. It didn't take long before Rosie was approached again, first by Neville, who stepped on her toes, and was in fact, too nervous to put his hand on her waist, and next by George. Rosie really enjoyed dancing with George. He spun her around until she thought she'd get sick, and they'd laughed a lot.

Her favorite twin recoiled, and Rose's eyes were wide as Malfoy approached, jutting out his hand as if he wanted to dance with her, in public, in front of everyone. That had been exactly his intention.

If Rosie had thought that Viktor was a good dancer, he had nothing on Draco Malfoy. The boy was a natural, or perhaps just expensively trained. He pulled her too close and moved too provocatively.

"Malfoy, you know, dragons, no big deal, but I'm freaked the fuck out by your girlfriend, so why are you doing this?"

"Relax Potter, I'll make sure she doesn't bite you. I just thought I'd help you make Diggory jealous. That is so obviously your intention."

Rosie let out a little snort of laughter. "Do you think it's working?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "I'll say."

Malfoy spun her around gracefully, and she caught sight of Ced with a glare almost as weighty as the potion's masters.

"You know, you look fucking hot Potter. If Pansy wouldn't hunt me down, I'd…" He hissed, biting his lip.

"You're so gross."

"Admit it, you wouldn't say no."

Rose sighed. "No probably not. You've gotta cool it with the iron grip though, Sirius almost lost it after the last time. My poor arms."

He smirked and drew his fingers lightly down her side, sending chills throughout her body.

"So that means there'll be a next time then."

"Malfoy, I'm not kidding, he was so pissed."

"Yeah, I got it, no death grip. Don't worry. Who even is Black to you anyways?"

"Mm, hard to say. He was my dad's best friend. He's my ex-godfather, but that's Remus now."

"He's my cousin." Malfoy said flatly.

"Yeah, he hates you though, and your parents."

"I think he was burned off the Black family tree. His brother though, Regulus. He was a death eater. Ruthless he was."

Rosie's eyes widened. She had not known that. The song was coming to an end, and Malfoy spun her around one last time and then drew her in.

"I'll be counting on that next time Potter."

With that, he left her, and Rose could see that Cedric was making his way over. He was frowning, probably because she'd been dancing with Malfoy, but she let him take her in his arms anyways.

"Hey Rose. You look incredible." He breathed, smiling that crooked smile that he did.

"Thanks Ced, you look very dashing yourself. How's Heidi?"

"Not you." He sighed, and he pressed his forehead to hers as they danced.

"How's Krum? He's a little…gruff for you, don't ya think?"

"Mm, I wasn't much paying attention to his personality when I agreed to go with him." She commented.

"Ugh. You're killin' me Rose. I've never been so bloody… jealous. Don't go off with him, please. You don't have to go off with me either… just, stay."

Rosie brought her lips in close to his ear, standing on her tip toes. "And why not?"

"Aw Rose, c'mon, I know you're still pissed about Meadow, really, I do and I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. It was a mistake, and it won't happen again."

"Ced… it wasn't just that. It was humiliating, to have…Severus tell me that, look at me with his pity eyes, and then to feel like I didn't have your support after I was entered into this stupid tournament. It was too much."

The boy cringed. "I know, I acted like a real ass. If I could take it back, you know I would."

She stuck out her bottom lip. "Ced, I know… I know you would, but you can't, and every time I see her with you, I get so…upset, and I just need some time still to forget about it."

"Some time… you mean you need to get revenge, don't you?"

Rosie closed her eyes. How did everyone always see right through her?

"That's what this is. God Rose, fine. Go sleep with that oaf, and make me feel the way you feel, because I will, but come back to me. Got it? Come back to me after all this is over."

Rosie pressed her face into his chest as they danced.

"You know, sometimes you can be such a Slytherin." Cedric whispered.

"The hat sure did want to put me there." She replied.

"Wait…are you serious?"

"Deadly. Yup, but I kept chanting, 'not Slytherin,' because I didn't like Malfoy already, and it gave in and put me in Gryffindor."

"That explains a lot." He twirled her. "You certainly seem to feel differently about Malfoy now."

"Ced. Cool it. He's just been a friend, you know, since the Longbottom party."

Her sort-of-boyfriend cringed at the memory.

The song ended then, and he let go of her. "Rose. I love you, ok? Don't forget."

Cedric often said that he loved her, but Rosie didn't say it back much…and the times that she had, she hadn't really been sure that she'd meant it. She was fourteen after all. Love was what she felt for Severus, and Moony, her parents, even Sirius. With Ced, it didn't feel like the same thing.

When Rose reconvened with Viktor at the tail end of the evening, the expectation was clear. Pleasantries were exchanged, but they both knew why they were there. When he led her away, Rose's stomach churned with nerves. It was easier to think about sleeping with Krum then to actually do it. She knew from the moment that he began to touch her, to kiss her, that it was a huge mistake. Severus had been right, of course he had been. This wasn't a boy, this was a man. He was too old for her and Rosie didn't feel comfortable asking him to stop…even less than with Ced or Malfoy. Oh, she had been so caught up in her little revenge plot that she hadn't even given herself a second thought. Rosie hadn't listened.

Apart from his struggles with english, Viktor didn't seem to understand body language either. He didn't notice as she cringed away, her body freezing as she felt just exactly how large he was clearly against her thigh. Sirius' voice rang through her head, saying,

 _You'd just lay there and take it_.

Apparently, he had been right too. Rosie wanted to stop, to tell him no, but she didn't know how. She didn't know what to say, so she just let him touch her. In fact, Rose was sure that she would have let Viktor do whatever he wanted to her had it not been for Ginny. Her best friend had come looking for her, tears streaming down her cheeks, and had burst into the room that Viktor and Rose occupied.

"Oh! Rosie I'm so sorry!" She cried, as the girl realized what she'd just walked in on.

For one extremely selfish moment, Rosie breathed a sigh of relief at Ginny's tears. This was her excuse. Now, with the other girl in the room, the fog seemed to have lifted and Rose detached herself from Krum.

Apologizing hastily, she took Ginny into a hug and ran from the room, trying to slow her breathing. Her friend needed her at that moment, thank Merlin.

Severus Snape despised teenage girls. He loathed them. They were hormonal, manipulative, and rash. They did not think before acting. They… well, Rose, did not know what she was doing, and it showed. Severus had to take a moment to compose himself when his charge had entered the great hall that evening. He cursed Potter and Lily with everything he had, but not for the reasons one would have expected. He cursed them, because they had both been undeniably attractive, and together, they had created this girl who was… breathtakingly beautiful.

Severus was acutely aware that others did not see Rose Potter as he did, a tiny, helpless, little girl, crying out for her mother in his pajama top. No, she was viewed by her peers as a young woman… a sex object. It made him shudder to think of what would be running through the head of every teenage boy in the hall that evening. It did not help that Rose seemed to have a lineup of boys waiting to dance with her. Krum had been a horrible choice of date, followed by Longbottom, and one of the Weasley twins. However, nothing had prepared Severus for the horror of watching Draco Malfoy dance with the girl. Yes, he had to quell whatever _that_ was.

Cedric Diggory was a given, though Severus detested the boy. He knew that after this dreadful little scheme of hers, Rose would wind up back with him. It hadn't been so bad before the Hufflepuff boy had betrayed the girl. That image would never leave his mind, the one of the two heads stumbling out from the broom closet together, red faced and nervous. Reasonably, Severus knew that Rose had been unfaithful to Diggory before that…She'd told Severus that much and he had been to afraid to ask with whom, but he couldn't help but take her side. The problem was, that Rose Potter had the potions master completely and utterly wrapped around her finger. It didn't matter what she did, he could never remain cross with her. That weakness had been put on display once again earlier that morning as she had melted his anger with the simplest of gifts. Truthfully, he couldn't fathom the notion that she would buy him anything…There was nothing he wanted, but Severus had been wrong. He had wanted that, the little photo. He just hadn't known it yet. It had been a well thought out gift.

The very idea of the child with Viktor Krum was repugnant. She was just a girl, she was small, and the famous seeker was practically the size of Severus himself. So, when Rose took of with him to some unknown location, he debated with himself internally. He could stop the whole operation, or he could let her do as she pleased. The first option was derived from his instincts, as he wanted nothing more than to follow the pair of them and pull her from Krum's grasp; however, there was nothing that Severus wanted less in the world than to encounter Rose any less than decent with any male student. That part of him inevitably won.

Ginny was almost inconsolable, so it took Rose a long time to understand what'd happened, but it sounded as though she'd tried to have sex with Dean, and it had not gone very well.

"I…I couldn't Rosie… I could let him, it hurt, I got scared. I didn't want him to have control of me like that. All… all I could think about was… Tom!"

Rosie's heart clenched. Poor Ginny.

"Ok, it's alright Gin. It's not your fault. It's just your body's way of protecting yourself." She soothed.

"But Rosie… why? I wasn't… it wasn't like… what happened to _you_ , but even you can have sex. There's gotta be something wrong with me."

"No… Ginny, it's the same damn thing, ok? It's all the same. These men, they think they can just do whatever they want to a girl like its no big deal. What happened to you is the same by nature as what happened to me. Somebody took away your ability to decide, and now you're scared of giving up that control."

"Do you really think that?" Her friend looked up at her, her cheeks red and blotchy.

"Absolutely." She replied, and it was true.

Fred and George were beside themselves with concern when Rosie sought them out to inform them that she would be bringing Ginny back to Moony's cottage for the night, noting their sister's obvious distress, but they had ultimately agreed.

Severus only raised an eyebrow at her request and pacified her, apparating both the girls home. Ginny slept in Rosie's bed that night, curled up against her in borrowed pajamas, her pain a reflection of Rose's own pain, in a tight circle of comradery.


	71. Chapter 71

**AN- I'm so excited to hit over 150 000 words with this chapter! Thank you so much to anyone reading and enjoying this story. Many of you have questioned my ability to turn out chapters quickly. Alas, aside from having no life, I work from home at the moment, so I have lots of time. Rest assured, the chapters will keep coming. This story will not be abandoned. I am excited to get into Voldemort's return. Lots of love- Meg.**

The morning after the Yule Ball, Rosie woke up feeling like she had a hangover. Ginny was still asleep, and Rose left her in the bed and trekked downstairs. It must have been late because both Moony and Sirius were downstairs already. When she came into the kitchen, they both looked up.

"Honey. You're awake." Moony started. "Is everything ok? Why did you bring Ginny home with you?"

Rose was in a foul mood, so she just glared. "Because men are trash, and they just use girls for whatever the fuck they want and then leave them to die."

She began to make some coffee for herself and her friend, turning away from them.

"Sweetheart, did something happen? Was it Krum… did he do something to you?" Her godfather's voice was raising in pitch, laced with concern.

"No. It wasn't me." She snapped.

"Did something happen to Ginny?" Moony just wasn't letting up.

"Not last night no."

"Rose…" He put his hand on her arm and she flinched.

"Moony. Leave me alone. I'm just mad at the world ok? Just let me be." Her tone was harsh and hurt flashed across his face as she spoke.

Sirius apparently didn't like how she was acting because he stepped forward.

"Rose. Don't treat Remus that way. He's just worried about you."

She snarled in his direction and turned away.

"No, hey, you're being rude."

Rosie lost it then. "No, you know who's fucking rude Sirius? Voldemort. He's bloody rude."

He cringed. "Yup, that was never up for debate, but that's no excuse for you to act like a…"

"Sirius." Moony stopped him from continuing. "Leave Rosie alone."

"Like a what? Were you gonna call me a bitch?"

Moony watched helplessly as they baited each other.

"You didn't hear it from me." Sirius shot back, coming closer.

"Get away from me." She hissed, trying to turn away, but he stopped her, grabbing onto her arm.

Rosie snapped. "Back. Off. Me. Please. I really don't want to be around…. _men_ right now. Leave me alone."

Sirius dropped her arm like it burned and exchanged a look with Moony. Rose abandoned her coffee and moved to the couch, wrapping herself in a blanket and staring at the wall, eyes devoid of life.

Remus crept into the dark bedroom where Ginny Weasley still slept, his chest tight with worry. Rose had not reacted that way to him since the very first time she'd visited his office at Hogwarts. He hated that…flinch. Gently, the werewolf placed a hand on the redheaded girl's shoulder to rouse her. The girl's eyes shot open, and she pushed herself back. Then she realized who was standing over her and sighed.

"Oh, hi Professor Lupin."

"Morning Ginny, please call me Remus. I'm sorry to wake you dear. I just thought you might be able to help me with something."

The girl sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, what's up?" She asked.

"Well… it's Rose…you see she woke up in a really foul mood, and she's reacted pretty badly to both Sirius as I, and now she's isolated herself. We're pretty concerned. I'm just wondering if something happened last night, something that might have upset her."

"Hmm, well a lot of things happened last night sir…" Ginny began awkwardly. "I don't know, she was dancing with Cedric, so that could've done it…She was also erm…getting close with Krum…but I interrupted that, and then she was comforting me."

Remus frowned. "She used an expression likening the male species to garbage and expressed a desire not to be around Sirius and I, for that reason. There was something about you-know-who as well."

The girl's eyes widened. "Er…yeah that might be my fault." She confessed.

"How so?" He prodded.

"Um, well, Rosie and I are close for a lot of reasons Professor…Remus, sir, but one of the reasons we kinda got closer was because we had some similar negative experiences." The child flushed red and looked away.

Remus nodded, understanding settling in his stomach. "I'm very sorry to hear that Ginny." He exhaled.

The girl bit her lip. "Anyways, I was upset last night, and maybe that made her upset too. I can try to see if she'll talk to me."

"Would you dear? I really don't like to see her like this."

Ginny made a move to stand but Remus stopped her. "Oh, when you're ready. I don't want you to feel like you have to help now if you're still not feeling well."

She shot him a little smile and shook her head. "Naw, I'm fine. It's Rosie who had it real bad sir."

Remus winced when she said that, remembering. He had tried his best to block out the replay of Lockhart's memories from the trial, but every once in a while, it snuck up on him.

As it turned out, Ginny Weasley didn't have much luck snapping Rose out of her stupor either. His goddaughter remained frozen in place, her eyes blank and her face listless for hours until it was time for Remus to go in to work. He really didn't want to leave Rosie alone with just Sirius, not after they'd been fighting, but he'd already missed work for the moon and for Christmas, so the werewolf didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to keep this job. Bending down to Rose's level on the couch, he cupped her face in his hands and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'll see you later princess. I've asked Severus to come by around dinner time to check in honey. I think Sirius has gone up to his room."

He got no reaction. Perhaps Severus would be able to break her out of it.

Severus flooed to Rose's home that evening, unimpressed and irritated. According to Lupin, the girl had been unresponsive since the morning and the wolf had only thought to inform him when it was for all intents and purposes, too late for Rose to regain her day. It was just as he'd expected. She was just tense, fighting an outburst. Just because she hadn't had a reaction similar for a while didn't mean she was cured. Lupin should know that, and he should've known what to do about it. Rose should not have been left to suffer all day. Black must have heard him floo in because he came down the stairs glaring, and Severus approached his charge on the couch.

"Snape, we're fine, you can leave." The mutt spat.

The potions master sighed with exasperation. Black would rather see her in pain then have him around. If anyone was causing a rift between Rose and Potter, it was him, not Severus.

"Sit down Black." He hissed.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do in my own home."

"Black. I do not have the patience for your territorial games. This is pre-outburst behavior; which Lupin should have recognized."

Rose wasn't looking at him, nor was she looking at Black. In fact, she didn't seem to have noticed his arrival at all. Severus sighed long and low, and moved closer to the child, jostling her and wrapping his arms firmly around Rose's shoulders. The girl recoiled.

"Don't touch me!" She cried, trying to wriggle away from him.

"Snivellus, what the fuck, get off her." Black appeared as though he wished to intervene.

Rose was beginning to panic, unable to escape his grasp. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her breathing became choppy and ragged as she pleaded with him to release her. Finally, and with a satisfying crash, the stand in the sitting room fell over, spilling its contents onto the floor. It wasn't as though Severus enjoyed restraining Rose, in fact it was almost physically painful, but it was worse to see her…lifeless.

Black cursed again, still glaring, but his eyes widened as the girl seemed to spring to life. She lunged forward into Severus and began to cry.

"Alright child. There there. What happened?"

"S…Sirius was right." She choked. "I…I can't…p…protect myself. I…I can't do anything. I…can't protect Ginny. All I am, all I seem to be worth is…a good fuck."

He froze. That had to be the foulest thing he'd ever heard come out of Rose Potter's mouth. His body tensed with anger as he took in what she'd said. Black had made her believe this. Turning around to stare at the mutt, he noted that Black's mouth hung open in surprise. When he caught Severus' gaze, he began to splutter.

"I didn't… I never told her _that._ God _,_ I would _never_ tell her that."

"What exactly did you tell her then?" His voice was dangerously low.

Before Black could answer him, Rose let out another sob and buried her face in his shoulder roughly. Severus sighed and traced lines up and down her back in an attempt at comfort.

"What happened child?"

Her voice was muffled by his robes, but he made out what she said with uncomfortable clarity.

"I got scared and didn't feel like such an adult anymore." She admitted, repeating his words to her exactly as he'd spoken them the day before.

Severus' chest tightened as the next question brimmed on his lips. "Did Viktor Krum hurt you Rose?"

She shook her head, face still hidden. "No, but I would've let him. I would have let him do anything because I couldn't say no…"

Black seemed to let out his breath and hang his head at her words.

"Is this why you brought Miss Weasley here last night?"

Rose shook her head again. "No. Ginny was upset…about Tom Riddle, she gets that way sometimes, but then I just got to thinking about that, and then Viktor, and I just feel so…helpless all the time. Anybody could do anything to me…you or Sirius, if you wanted, I would let you because your stronger and I don't know how to refuse."

At that, Severus balked. He did not like this new attitude. "Rose. As I have said before, nothing inappropriate will ever come to pass between us. I would _never_ ask that of you, nor would I want to. You are a child and I am an adult, and you are worth so very much more than that."

"I know that Severus…but you could. Anybody could, and that's the scary part."

Severus shook his head and turned to Black, his face set with rage.

"What. did you. say. to her?"

The mutt raised his hands defensively. "Rosie knows I would never, ever hurt her… I just said that she needs to develop some fight instincts and learn how to protect herself if she's gonna learn to duel, and it kinda transferred over into her personal life too."

"Do you not see how you've frightened her?" Severus growled.

"Did you ever think that maybe she should be afraid Snape? Next time there might not be a Ginny Weasley to intervene."

Rosie watched nervously as Sirius began to argue with her guardian.

"Stay in your place Black." The potions master spat. "You are no longer her godfather, and you do not get to make decisions for her."

Ugh. Rose wanted her mother again, or at least Moony. How was she supposed to make these two-stop fighting? She should never have spoken in the first place.

"No. I'm not, and I'm not trying to make decisions for her either. I'm just pointing out that maybe she needs to hear the truth instead of some false safety narrative that you and Remus feed her."

"She. Is. safe." Severus sounded like her might kill Sirius if he kept talking.

"No, she's bloody not! You don't want to admit it, but she's not a child. She's not a baby and she's just gonna fall a hell of a lot harder if you keep treating her like one!"

Sirius turned to her now.

"Rose, hon, I'm not trying to be a dick, but you have got to learn how to say no, and then you need to learn how to pick up your damn wand and use it."

"Do not address her that way." Severus interjected. "Rose is not James Potter. She is a child, and she is protected."

"Hell, I know she's not James, but as creepy as you are Sniv, even you can't be in every drawing room, broom closet, or bedroom with her!"

Rosie jumped in. "Don't call Severus that name!"

"Oh, just shut up about that for once in your life Prongslet."

"Sirius, I love Severus and it really bothers me when you use that name for him." She insisted.

"Yeah…yeah, we all know how much you fucking love Snape, it's a shame that you can't feel the same way about your own bloody father!"

She flinched and she felt the familiar stinging in her eyes. Rose looked up at Severus, who had closed his own eyes and her lip quivered.

Sirius seemed to regret what he'd said because he exhaled and rubbed his temples.

"Rosie…" He tried, but she was gone.


	72. Chapter 72

Rosie ran away from Moony's cottage into the muggle village with the intention of going to see her guardian at work, but then she remembered that he'd been worried about the state of his job after the last moon and the time he took off for Christmas. Rose didn't want to be the reason that he lost his job. She couldn't just burst in and demand to see him. It was selfish, and Rosie was already selfish enough.

She wandered for a while through the narrow streets, and then began to feel the chill of the winter air seeping in through her skin. Rose had forgotten to grab a coat in her dash out the door, though, she kept walking because there was something oddly comforting about being around muggles.

Maybe it was because she'd been a muggle for longer than she'd been a witch, or perhaps it was the simplicity of the lifestyle, but it was soothing. When Rosie had been a muggle, things were very clear. She had not been loved by her aunt and uncle, but she had had the idea of her parents as a constant in her mind.

Rose had always known that they'd died to protect her. Despite what the Dursleys had told her, it hadn't been a car crash that killed Lily and James Potter. She had the memory to prove it. When she'd been a child, the dynamics had been so much easier.

Rosie had not had anyone fighting to love her. Uncle Vernon had never even tried to be a father towards her… well, except the discipline part, but still, Severus and Moony never disciplined her like that. Now, she felt like she was on both sides of a war, and Sirius…well Rose didn't even know what Sirius was to her.

He wasn't a father figure… that was for sure. Now, Rosie had been an orphan her whole life, but she was pretty positive that fathers didn't act the way Sirius acted. He was mean to her, belligerent, and confrontational. He told her what he really thought all the time. In contrast, Severus and Moony hid things from her, and hid their own feelings from Rose, to protect her. They were father figures.

The confusing part was that Sirius wasn't really her friend either. That's the term they used, but friends also didn't act the way Sirius acted. Rosie had never had a friend whose eyes lit up the moment she walked in the room, or who would do anything she asked without question, even when it made him uncomfortable. She didn't really have an answer either, perhaps this was what friends were like as they got older.

Sirius was the same age as her parents, so maybe he had a different definition of friendship. It didn't really matter. The point was that Rosie didn't want him to go away, so she wondered why he consistently found the exact right thing to say to break her. It had been like that since the night they'd met. He pinpointed every weakness that she had and threw it right in her face when he got mad.

Of course, it would be Sirius who found her. He was carrying one of her sweaters, lighting the way with his wand, even though he shouldn't be. When he caught sight of Rose, his body seemed to sag with relief. Rosie shuffled towards him, looking away. His words from before bounced around in her mind, making her stomach twitch with guilt.

"Fuck, Little Prongs, you're allowed to be angry, but can you not take off in the dark, in the middle of winter alone?"

She bit her lip and did not approach him.

"Aw, c'mon Rosie. You know I was just pissed off. I shouldn't've said that to you."

His groveling reminded her of Cedric. Rosie shrugged. "You were right though. You're always right. Everyone else is always right and I'm always wrong."

"No, I wasn't kid. I know… I know you love James… I just wish that you'd…you know, act like it."

"I'm sorry Sirius. Really. I know that he was your best friend, and you miss him a lot, and I wish that I didn't have these conflicted feelings, you have no idea how much…"

"It's just that I don't understand Rose. You act like… like he walked out on you or something, but he didn't. He died."

"God. I know he died, I remember, ok? I just needed a dad so badly Sirius. My uncle was so unkind, he really was, and he was the only man I knew for so long… then the first person who was ever patient, and understanding, and cared about me just happened to be my dad's worst enemy. Severus never talks about it, because he doesn't want to hurt me, but I know."

"Rose…It's not your fault." Siri sighed.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is, I still… I see how much you despise Severus, and how much he hates you. I can feel it every time you're in the same room, and it kills me to think that James would act the same if he were here."

Sirius bowed his head and was silent for a long time. Then he looked up, met her eyes, and came closer. When he spoke, it was with purpose.

"I tried to kill Snape once."

Rosie gasped, bringing her hand up to her chest.

"You what?"

He sighed and looked away. "Yeah. I was a fucking asshole. I don't know if I really wanted to kill him, or if I didn't fully think through the consequences, but the point is, he could've died. He was always snooping around, you know, with Remus and the full moon…and one evening, he was skulking, and I told him that if he wanted to know, he should go down to the shrieking shack that evening, which was the moon."

She knew in that moment that her eyes were as wide as saucers.

"He did, and it was every bit as dangerous as you're imagining. Moony tried to attack him…man I could've gotten Remus killed too if he'd done anything to Snape…"

"T…That's absolutely horrible Sirius." Rosie stuttered.

"I know… I do. Dumbledore was furious. I'd never seen him like that before. Moony, was so upset. He didn't speak to me for almost a whole month and it took another two months for him to allow me back out on the moon. Even now, we don't talk about it."

"Sirius…"

"Wait… before you speak." He stopped her.

"The reason that Snape didn't die, was because he'd told Lily that he was going to go down there… and Lily told James. Your dad, he was…man, he was pissed. We'd never fought so badly, and we never did again. He rushed down there as soon as he heard, transformed, and got right in the middle of Snape and Moony. James saved his life… and even though he shouldn't have had to, it makes him better than me. Your dad hated Snape, it's true… but if he were here, he would be, and he was, fundamentally better than I am."

"Oh my god." Rosie breathed.

They walked back in silence. Rose slipped the sweater that he'd brought her on, and they did not exchange a single word as she reacted to Sirius' words. Severus was waiting by the door of the cottage when the pair arrived, fidgeting anxiously, of course. Rose couldn't help it. Relief settled in her chest when she saw him and she lurched forward, trapping him in a hug.

"Thank Merlin you didn't get killed." She breathed, clinging onto her guardian.

Severus' eyes widened, and then his face set into a puzzled expression as he looked beyond her towards Sirius. Her ex-godfather just shrugged and passed by them, heading into the house and up to his room.

When Remus arrived home that night after his shift, he found Snape seated on the sofa, awake and staring straight forward, with Rosie tucked under his arm, fast asleep. It was actually quite an adorable scene. Severus didn't look up as he came in from the cold and shut the door, removing his muggle coat, and boots. It wasn't until Remus moved to sit in front of him on the opposite couch that the dour man spoke.

"What would you have me tell Rose about her father?" He asked, tone serious and somber.

Remus' face contorted in confusion. "What do you mean Severus?"

"The girl. I have obviously caused her to develop conflicted feelings about Potter…what do you wish for me to say to her?"

"What started this tonight? Was she upset about James? Is that why she was…like that earlier?"

"No. I prompted her to have an outburst the moment I arrived, which released the tension that she held, fixing the issue. Then, Black began to bait her, as is typical. He made a comment comparing negatively her affection for myself with that of her father…and Rose was extremely affected by it. It is my desire to ease that burden, so tell me, what would you have me say?"

Although the potions master spoke coldly, and Remus knew that he loathed the very idea of speaking well about James, it warmed his heart just a little to know that he would actually do anything for little Rosie.

"I'll speak with Sirius. They've been at each other's throat's all day." Remus shook his head.

"I believe that they have reconciled already." Snape informed him.

Remus exhaled relaxing himself back against the couch. "Listen Severus, you shouldn't lie to Rosie. Don't say anything to her about James that you don't mean because she'll know your faking it. You know that. Just, like I said before, give her permission to let him in too."

Snape just grunted and moved to sit up. "You take her." He commanded, jostling Rosie lightly to allow for Remus to move in next to his goddaughter.

The exchange had to be one of the most awkward moments he'd ever experienced in his life, and it seemed to have been needless as Rose woke up the moment that Severus left. She sat up, and when she noticed that it was he who had replaced Snape, she curled her hand in his work shirt and grumbled,

"I'm sorry 'bout your werewolf. You're so nice, best dogfather ever, bad Sirius for killing you."

She was not quite coherent, but Remus raised an eyebrow at her words. When she lost consciousness again, he set her gently down, and levitated her sleeping form up to bed, tucking her in and leaving a kiss on her forehead. Rose Potter was, truly, the light of his life.


	73. Chapter 73

Rosie really hadn't wanted to go back to Hogwarts. It was already a week into January, and the task was supposed to be held in the last week of February. Although she'd been training with Moony and Sirius, Rosie was still unable to do much in the way of defense. She supposed that if the second task was just an obstacle course of common magical creatures, or perhaps a duel against a second year Slytherin student, Rose might come out victorious; however, anything of a higher caliber and she was screwed.

The only thing that Rosie seemed to have any luck with was learning to fight off the Imperius curse, but that, she couldn't even boast about. Severus would actually kill Sirius if he found out about their little on the side practice. Her first guardian was very…sensitive about the dark arts. It had taken a while for Rose to feel comfortable again with Siri after what he'd told her about his actions with Severus, but alas, she had to keep up the once weekly lessons, and he was so charming and so determined to get her to speak with him that she didn't really stand a chance at staying mad.

"Now. What spell would you use if you wanted to hide yourself?"

"Ooh, Malfoy taught me that one. The disillusionment charm."

"I don't even want to think about why that kid was disillusioning you."

Rosie giggled. "Mostly so his girlfriend didn't see me sneaking out of his dorm room."

"You're an evil little thing Prongslet, you remind me of…nevermind."

"I remind you of you. That's what you were gonna say I bet, but you don't want me to think you condone me sleeping with Malfoy."

"How'd you get so smart?" He tapped her on the nose.

They were just about to begin practicing with the charm when there came a knock at the door. Rosie was surprised to see Cedric pop his head into the training room, he looked jumpy, or excited maybe, and he was holding his golden egg.

"Rose! Er, I'm sorry to interrupt… I need to show you something. I've got it. I know what the task is!"

Her eyes widened and she looked to Sirius, who was already glaring at Ced. Siri turned back to her and sighed, raising his hands in defeat.

"Go. This can wait till next week."

"Are you sure?" She fidgeted nervously.

"It's alright Rosie, go with loverboy. Maybe if he's right we'll have something specific to practice in your next lesson."

"Thanks Siri, give Moony a kiss for me." Rose grinned, pulling him into a quick hug and then ruffling his hair.

"Rude! And I will not be kissing Remus!" He called after her as she hurried out the door with Ced.

Her sort-of-boyfriend was bouncing with excitement, his hair was wet, and he smelled clean…almost like he'd just taken a bath. Rosie had the sudden urge to take a bath with him. Had she known that that was his exact intention, she would have worn prettier knickers that day. Cedric dragged her to the prefect's bathroom on the fourth floor just as the sun was beginning to set. He led her inside, and locked the door, sealing it shut with magic. Then he turned to her and his expression changed into one of discomfort.

"Erm. I guess you're wondering why I just locked us in the prefect's bathroom, right?"

"I was just going to go with it." She shrugged.

"It's the egg. You need to submerge it in the water. It sings, here I can show you." He motioned towards the bath, which was filling itself. Ced took his shirt off, and stripped down into is boxers, but kept them on. He brought the egg to the edge of the large, swimming-pool like tub, and dropped into the water.

Rosie, who now had other intentions for this little rendezvous, slipped her shirt over her head and pulled off her tights, leaving her in just her underpants and a rather plain bra.

"Rose… you don't have to…" Ced began, and then his mouth gaped open as she unhooked her bra casually, throwing it off to the side.

Sliding the pink knickers off her legs, Rose was completely nude. She blushed, because she still was not one hundred percent comfortable being totally naked, even with Cedric, but she made her way over to where he was anyways and got into the tub next to him.

"Rose…?" His voice was curious, but also slightly strangled.

"You can't have a bath in a sweatshirt and tights Ced." She whispered, moving closer until her bare chest was pressed up against his.

"Oh- oh!" Cedric reacted as she moved her hand down to touch him through the wet fabric of his boxers. He moaned, desire now evident in her hand.

"Let's be together again." She suggested coyly.

"Mm. You really did just need to get revenge, didn't you?" He smirked, allowing his hand to caress her stomach, dropping lower until he was touching her…exactly where she had hoped he would.

Rosie squeaked with pleasure as he toyed with her. "I didn't, ugh yes. I…didn't sleep with, ah, Krum."

Ced was needy and excited. Somehow, his boxers came off. She allowed him to turn her around so that he hands were pressed flat against the edge of the tub, her face turned away from his. The intrusion was hot from behind as he delved into her slick folds, letting out a little gasp as he did so.

"Rose, fuck." He breathed in her ear, his fingers brushing her now semi-wet hair away from the side of her face.

She was about to lose herself in the moment, her whole-body tingling, when a sudden realization hit her. Rosie had not cast the contraceptive charm yet.

"Ugh. Shit wait a sec, Ced, I'm sorry. I forgot the charm."

"Ahh, can't you take a potion afterwards." He groaned, his member twitching inside her.

"You can be such a jerk Cedric Diggory. No, I can't take a potion. It's not good to take them. Now unless you want _Professor Snape_ , giving you a sex education lesson, you'll get me a wand."

The boy let out another gasp and Rosie's body twinged as he pressed deeper into her, never pulling out as he stretched out his arm, groping around in his discarded pants, which were nearby, to find his wand.

"What's the charm?" He asked tightly, and she could tell he was fighting the urge to move.

"Sterilius." She told him, "You cast it like a heating charm. I can't believe you don't know this."

Ced did as she said, and then threw his wand to the side and leaned his face into her shoulder.

"God you feel good Rose." He sighed.

Rosie allowed herself to relax back into his touch then, her eyes falling closed, and her mouth open as he moved. It was good, it felt nice, and she did finish, but so did he, pretty fast. Thank Merlin she'd remembered the blasted charm when she had.

When they pulled apart, he had that adorable crooked smile on his face, and his eyes were twinkling. He was sure handsome. Rosie knew that she was ready to be with him again. Ced pulled her into a tender kiss, holding her chin up with his fingers. Then, taking the egg from where it was sitting next to them, he motioned like he was going to open it.

"Oh god, don't." Rosie made to cover her ears.

"No, wait. Dunk your head under the water on the count to three." He winked.

Cedric counted down and Rose did as she was told, plugging her nose and sinking into the warm bath. Her boyfriend had opened the egg in the water, and instead of screeches, she heard a song.

'Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching, ponder this:

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour – the prospect's black

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'

It was all Rosie could do to hold her breath until the song had finished. She came up gasping for air and coughing. Ced reached forward to catch her, rubbing her back. Suddenly, Rose felt vulnerable, cradled in the Hufflepuff boy's arms, naked, and totally unprepared for whatever the hell that song meant. She pushed Cedric gently away from her and got out of the bath, searching for a towel, and then for her clothes.

"You ok Rose?" He asked, making a move to follow her.

"Yeah, fine, sorry. What do you think it means?"

"Didn't you listen? Mermaids. They sing underwater. The task is going to be in the black lake. It sounds like their going to take something from each of us, and we have to find it in an hour, under the lake."

Her eyes widened, but she nodded. "Great. Ok. Yeah. Mermaids don't happen to speak parseltongue do they?" She tried to joke.

"You wish. We'll see who comes out on top this time." He poked her side and Rosie swallowed thickly. "Wait…you're probably gonna have to prepare to do some non-verbal casting, being under water and all. You've never done that have you?"

"Er… no. I guess I'll have to add that onto Sirius' task list."

Cedric seemed to be excited by the prospect of the task, but Rose was terrified. There were several glaring problems with what she was expected to do. That's why, even though it was late, and Severus would definitely be annoyed that she'd just come from having a bath with her boyfriend, Rosie kissed Ced goodnight, and headed down to the dungeons.

Arriving at the potion's office, she was immediately set on edge, because Severus seemed to be having an argument with someone. Rose stood awkwardly outside, trying not to listen, but she couldn't help that the sound carried.

"It's happening again like before. Soon neither you or anyone else will be able to deny it!" An unfamiliar voice from inside hissed.

"I told you already Igor, I see no reason to discuss it." Her guardian snarled back.

"It's a sign Severus. You know it is."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? Then perhaps you wouldn't mind rolling up your sleeve." The other man pressed.

There was a grunt from inside, and then a growl. This Igor must be another death eater… who else would demand that the potions master roll up his sleeve. Discomfort settled itself in her stomach like an anchor. All Rosie wanted was to speak with Severus, she hated talk of death eaters and Voldemort.

"You don't fool me Severus. You are scared! Admit it."

"I have nothing to be scared of Igor. Can you say the same?"

Rose let out an involuntary shriek as the unknown man slammed open the door, causing a loud banging noise.

Igor Karkaroff turned to glare at her, and she shrank away. "Spying were you Miss Potter?" He questioned.

Then Severus appeared at the door, appraised the scene, and barred his teeth at the Durmstrang headmaster.

"I'd thank you not to intimidate my students."

Karkaroff straightened up, and turned swiftly on his heels, heading back down the corridor.

Rosie took a deep breath. "I really don't like any of your friends, sir."

"I do not have friends child, only allies and enemies."

"You're so dramatic Severus. I'll be your friend." She moved into his office, nudging her head against him as she walked by.

He snorted. "You will catch your death wandering the dungeons with wet hair."

"Yeah, well, at this point that might be a good thing. I know what the second task is." Rose sat on the desk. "Ced figured it out. I told you he'd tell me."

Severus nodded that she should continue, and Rosie explained to him what Cedric had relayed to her. When she was finished, he spoke.

"I see." His drawl was slow and pensive.

"I am going to die." The panic was beginning to creep into her voice. "Severus, I can't hold my breath for a minute, let alone an hour. Plus, I can't even cast spells out loud! I don't know the first thing about wordless casting…and that's not even the worst part. Do you want to know the worst part?"

"I shudder to imagine that there could be a larger predicament but do go on."

Rosie bit her lip, fidgeting tensely.

"I can't swim."

Severus paled. "You what?"

"I can't..."

"Yes, I heard you. Rose, you are fourteen years old, how is it possible that you have never learned to swim?" He sounded angry.

"Just close your eyes for a second and try to picture Petunia or Vernon Dursley teaching me to swim. I couldn't even read until year five because nobody would practice with me! How many times do you think I've been to a swimming pool, a beach, or a lake, in my life? Zero."

The potions master closed his eyes and groaned in frustration. "Friday nights." He said in a voice so low that she barely heard.

"I'm sorry?"

"I will teach you to swim on Friday nights, eleven o'clock. See that it remains private."

Rosie nodded. "Thanks Sir."

"I will speak to your dog about wandless casting. I am certain he can manage it. Lupin must be advised to focus on water creatures. As for the matter of oxygen, you needn't worry. I will remedy that."

"Ced seems so…thrilled with it all, but I'm terrified Severus. What if something goes wrong? What if I can't learn, or I just sink to the bottom and drown?"

"Rose Lily Potter. I am going to lose my temper if you continue with this attitude. You will not die in this ridiculous tournament."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I will not let you."

"Is this one of those false safety narratives that Sirius was talking about?" Rosie asked.

He closed his eyes, as though looking at her would cause his head to explode.

"Do you honestly believe that I, your wolf, Black, or the Headmaster would allow you to perish in this task without interference?"

"Well no not really…but…"

"And you say it is I who is dramatic."

"Hey! I'm not dramatic, I'm just…"

"A byproduct of child neglect. Yes, I am aware."

"What does that have to do with…" Rosie began, but Severus interrupted her.

"How many times in your life before Hogwarts did your relatives bid you words of encouragement."

She frowned. "Erm… they _encouraged_ me to avoid doing a lot of things."

"What kind of…things?"

Flushing red, Rose looked away. "That isn't relevant."

"If it is as I suspect, perhaps you have been beaten down so many times for succeeding that now success in anything has become an undesirable quality."

"Woah, they never beat me."

"It is a general phrase."

"Will you guys stop finding new psychological issues with me? Let's just stick with post-Lockhart stuff for now. Yeah?"

Severus sighed. "Go back to your common room Rose. I wish to see you sleeping and eating at the appropriate hour each day."

"Yes, Professor Snape sir!" She saluted.

Her guardian just glared as she left, closing the door lightly behind her.

The Gryffindor common room was quiet. There were a couple of seventh years quizzing each other in the corner, and Dean sat with Ron on one of the high-backed couches. Rosie didn't really feel like being alone, so she joined them, sitting down on the rug.

"Hey Rosie." Ron smiled.

"Hi guys. Whatcha up to?"

"Just thinking." Her redheaded friend replied, but Dean didn't look away from the fire. "Where were you at?" He took in her wet hair.

"Well. I had an excellent bath in the prefect's bathroom, and then I went to visit Severus."

"How'd you get into the prefect's bathroom?"

She raised her eyebrows suggestively. "It helps to know a prefect."

"Or the head boy." He winked. "Well. I'm gonna head up to bed. You coming Dean?" Ron nudged his stoic friend.

The other boy just shook his head. Rosie frowned. Dean wasn't usually one for silent brooding. She nodded at Ron, as if to say that she'd stay with him, and the boy went upstairs.

It took a moment for Dean to speak, but when he did, Rose knew that he'd been hoping to run into her. His voice was soft and concerned.

"Rose… can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course. Is everything ok?"

"Well, you're Ginny's best friend, and you also…well, about what happened to you with Professor Lockhart…"

She crossed her arms over her stomach uncomfortably. "What's the question Dean?"

"Did something like that happen to Ginny too?"

Rosie cringed. "Dean… I can't tell you that. If you want to know, you should ask Gin."

"I'm sorry, Rose. I don't want to make you upset, I just…I'm really worried because we tried to…"

"I know." She interrupted him. "I know all about it."

"Oh." The boy blushed.

"Listen. You've gotta be patient and gentle with her."

"I'm just not really sure where to go from here." He confessed. "Do I ask her to try again? What if I hurt her more? I don't wanna be that type of person. I don't want to hurt anybody, especially Ginny."

"Ok, relax Dean, just relax. You're not like that." Rosie gritted her teeth and continued. "If she says stop, you stop. If she says it hurts, stop. If she's crying, definitely stop. If her body is rigid and still and her face is blank, stop. Get the gist?"

"I'm sorry Rose, I shouldn't have asked." He winced.

She exhaled and then inhaled deeply. "No. It's ok. I'm sorry, it just makes me squirm talking like this. Just learn to read her body language and you'll be fine. Try talking to her about it. I bet that will really help."

"You think so?"

"Oh definitely."

"Thanks Rose." He seemed to smile a little.

Rosie shook her head. That was apparently one thing she was good at: giving her friends advice that she herself didn't follow.


	74. Chapter 74

On Friday night, Rosie was stressed. She wasn't exactly sure what it was about secret swimming lessons with Severus that made her nervous, but there was something. Firstly, she didn't know what to wear to go swimming. This would be an issue in the tournament too. She'd have to ask Severus. For that evening, Rose settled on some exercise shorts and one of Dudley's old band t-shirts. It was still big on her, even though it was two years old. Rosie's mind wandered to Dudley briefly, wondering how her cousin was getting along. It wasn't that she missed, him, but she was curious. After all, she'd lived with those people all her life, and then was plucked from their care without a second thought, or a goodbye. Rose wondered if they ever…missed her. Probably not.

She couldn't go down in her school dressed the way she was, so Rosie dug out a pair of trainers, hoping that she was not expected to swim in shoes. These were the only trainers she owned at the moment. Severus had told her to come out to the lake herself and meet him there, so that's what she did, slipping the indivisibility cloak over her head and creeping through the halls. The night was cold, and Rose kicked herself for not thinking to bring a sweater, or a jacket, for after.

When she began to see the swell of the lake grow larger, Rosie looked around for Severus. As she caught sight of her guardian, she thanked Merlin that she'd come under the invisibility cloak so that he couldn't see her face. The potions master was almost unrecognizable under the moonlight. He wore his white dress shirt, that typically only poked out of his constricting black attire, but that was not the most surprising part. Severus was wearing shorts…not typical shorts, and they were all black, but they were shorts indeed. Now, Rose was pretty used to Severus by now. He often dressed down in her presence; however, it was not until this moment that she realized that her professor had calves.

Once again glad for the invisibility cloak, she rid her face of all humor or surprise. Her guardian would have been annoyed had she laughed at him. Rosie thought briefly about scaring him… she could. He was not facing her, and she had the element of surprise, but she thought better of it. Severus seemed like the type of man who would react harshly to being snuck up on… he might accidently do something to her, and then feel guilty for it.

Approaching from behind, Rosie slipped off the cloak and hissed,

"Severus."

He turned smoothly towards her, raising an eyebrow as she dropped the cloak to the ground.

"Good evening." He drawled.

"Do people swim with shoes on?" She asked immediately, biting her lip.

Severus snorted. "Not that I am aware of, though my own experience with the sport is not…extensive."

"But you can swim though?"

"Obviously. Had it been beyond my capabilities, I would not have offered to teach you."

"Right… does everybody know how to swim?"

"Apparently not." He eyed her pointedly. "Though it is an easily acquired skill."

Rosie stripped off her shoes and socks, setting them to the side. Severus did the same. He rolled up his sleeves, and she saw the dark mark exposed on his wrist. Her scar twinged, and she drew her hand up to touch it instinctively. Concern flashed across her guardian's face as she did so.

"Perhaps it would be more conducive to concentration if I were to keep my sleeve rolled down."

"No, it's fine sir." Rose shook her head. "It's just at first."

Severus moved to enter the shallow part of the lake, the black water a stark contrast against his too pale skin. Rosie followed his lead, dipping her bare feet in the water and letting out a pained little noise of discomfort as the cold bit at her ankles.

"You will need to be more resilient than this." Severus sighed, turning back to grasp her wrist in his hand and pulling her further into the water next to him.

When they were submerged up to their chests, nerves began to build in her stomach. Severus looked at her once more and then abandoned her in the shallower water, dropping off into a part in which he was forced to float. Had Rosie been less anxious, she probably would have found the scene funny.

"Rose. Step forward." He commanded gently.

Rose, who was conditioned to do as her guardian said, took a big step into the abyss. The moment that her feet searched for ground and did not find it, panic coursed through her chest. Letting out a squeal, she found herself clinging desperately to Severus' neck, her legs came up to curl against his chest. He grunted at the sudden contact.

"Child. Unhand me."

"No." Rosie refused timidly, gripping his neck tighter.

The potions master exhaled deeply and began to pry her arms from him.

"Stop!" She cried, fighting him.

"Rose. Relax. Relax. Breathe. I will not let you go." He soothed.

Rosie squeezed her eyes shut and straightened her legs, allowing him to lower her back down. He kept his hands firmly on either of her arms, making sure that she stayed upright. Her breathing was ragged, as once again her feet groped for support and found nothing. Rose trusted Severus but her heart was still racing. This should not be so difficult.

"Now. I am going to turn you so that you're on your back, facing up at the sky." He narrated.

Her stomach tied in knots as he did this, and her arms and legs spread out like a star. Severus' hand stayed below her back, keeping her afloat.

"The human body is designed to float. You will not sink as long as you remain this way. On the count of three, I will be removing my hand, and you will not move. Do you understand me?"

She nodded against the water and he did as mentioned. Rosie's instincts told her to wriggle and squirm as she felt his hand leave her back, but her mind knew better than to defy her guardian. Sure enough, she did not sink.

Rose was forcefully reminded of something that Moony had told her last summer and her heart clenched at the memory. They'd been talking about flying, and he'd mentioned the first time that she'd ridden a broom…a toy that Sirius had brought her. Her mother had been furious, but James had been ecstatic. He had been disappointed the first time she mounted it and began to wail in fear, so he went around the sitting room for weeks with his hand on her back, until finally, he let her go, and she wasn't afraid anymore.

Rosie didn't mean to sigh sadly. She didn't mean to lose her balance, or to let out a huff of grief as Severus caught her. It was unintentional, but he noticed, and he cared, as usual.

"Child… what is troubling you?"

Oh, she was such a little girl around Severus. Rose could usually hold her own with others, even Moony…but something about the potions master turned her into a twelve-year-old child every time.

"It's nothing sir. I was just thinking about something Moony told me."

"Rose. I have no desire to play games with you. You are obviously bothered. Tell me what has caused it."

"It's just a story he told me about, er, James. This just reminded me of what he said…but you don't want to hear Severus, don't worry about it." She bit her lip and looked away.

"What is the story?" He prodded.

"Severus…"

"Tell me." Her guardian insisted.

Rosie flushed as she told him. She felt almost embarrassed talking about this with the potions master. He listened quietly and then nodded.

"Indeed, I can see why you were reminded."

"I'm sorry." Rose apologized quietly, shivering as the cold water began to seep through into her bones.

Severus seemed to be deep in thought, and she wanted to ask him if they could be done for the evening, but she didn't want to interrupt. He coaxed her distractedly back into the floating position on her back and then showed her how to move her arms and kicked her legs. Apparently, he was not finished with the lesson yet. Severus followed her careful strokes with his hand, making sure she was comfortable, but he barely spoke a word.

After what seemed to be an eternity of swimming on her back, the potions master decided to discuss whatever was on his mind. It was all Rosie could do not to freeze up as he spoke.

"Child, talk to me about James Potter."

Her arms and legs stopped moving and her breathing stilled. "Sir?"

"Continue swimming. I merely asked you to talk to me about your father."

"W…what do you want me to say?" She stuttered, forcing her limbs into motion again. Severus' hand followed her.

"I would like you to disclose the origin of your discontent with him."

Rosie really wanted to get out of the lake. "Erm…Severus, are you talking about what Sirius said the other night at the cottage? He can be…dramatic."

"Yes Rose, I am more than capable of discerning when Black is being theatrical. It was Lupin who suggested I speak with you on this matter, several weeks ago in fact, but I have neglected to do so."

"Wait." She stopped swimming and righted herself, clutching onto Severus' arm.

"Moony asked you to talk to me about James?"

"Indeed." He pursed his lips.

"Why would he do that? I thought he wanted me to…um, develop a more favorable perspective…"

"I believe it was for exactly that reason." The potions master cut her off.

Rose shifted uncomfortably. She was cold and Severus seemed to be…tense, and they were very close because she refused to release his arm. As was typical, he read her like a book, sensing that her level of anxiety was not entirely due to the topic of conversation.

"I apologize. I should not have broached such a sensitive subject whilst in this position with you."

"It's ok…erm, we don't have to have this conversation at all Severus. Honest. I'll figure it out, you don't have to…"

"Rose. I would like to have it. Perhaps we can move to an alternate location."

She bit her lip but allowed him to pull her lightly to the shore. Severus could sense her trepidation, and tried, momentarily, to change the subject.

"What exactly is a Metallica?" He raised an eyebrow, casting a drying charm over her clothing.

Rosie shrugged. "It's a muggle band. This is Dudley's t-shirt."

"Your cousin gave you this shirt?"

"Well he didn't give it to me exactly. My aunt gave it to me when he outgrew it."

"The boy outgrew that shirt two years ago?!"

"Three actually." She sighed, her stomach still set with dread.

"Did you have a particular fondness for the band?"

"I understand that you're trying to distract me from this awkward conversation that we're about to have, but why are you asking so many questions about my shirt? It's kinda weird."

"My apologies. I will not make any more attempts to lighten the mood." He growled.

Once they were both dry, Severus began to walk. Rosie could tell that he was trying to be conscious of his gate, so that she could keep up easily. Her teeth were chattering from the frigid night air. Her guardian, who once again adorned his full set of robes, removed his outer cloak and draped it around her shoulders, motioning for her to have a seat on the large rock nearby. It was the same rock that she fallen asleep next to with Padfoot before she had known he was Sirius. Severus sat opposite her. Pulling his cloak tighter around her shoulders, she looked up and said,

"I don't know what he wanted you to say, but I don't want to hear it. I don't want you to lie to me or pretend because you want to make me feel better."

"What gave you the impression that I intend to lie?"

"Becausethat'swhatdadsdo." She mumbled, looking down again.

"I do not have the faintest idea what you have just said."

"I said… because that's what dads do."

Severus stilled for a second and then exhaled. "I see."

The tension was excruciating. Neither Severus nor Rosie spoke until, finally, the dam broke.

"I'm sorry for calling you that, I just…that's how I see things, and I know that you hate children, and you probably don't want one but…I'm sorry." She gulped for air.

"Child."

Rose met his eyes.

"I have never in the history of my teaching career conducted a swimming lesson."

She furrowed her brows. "Sir…what does that have to do…?"

"What I am attempting to say is that I am teaching you to swim because I understand that my responsibility to you resides outside of the bounds of regular student-professor conduct. You should not have any doubt that my…affection for you has long surpassed that boundary."

"So, you're not mad at me for comparing you to a dad?" Rosie blushed.

"It is only natural…considering the nature of our relationship over the past two years."

"Erm, and you…don't mind?"

"I do not take on new roles and responsibilities lightly Rose. I made my decision over a year ago as to what part I would allow myself to play in your life. For as long as you are in need of a father figure, you will have it in me."

"Oh." She breathed, eyes beginning to sting. Her heart felt very full all of a sudden.

"Because of this…I have come to care a great deal for you, which leads me back to our earlier exchange. It is not and has never been my aim to replace James Potter in your life." He continued.

"Severus…I know that." Rosie nodded.

"Lupin seems to be laboring under the impression that perhaps my…animosity with your father has affected your willingness to allow his memory into your life. He suggests that I, and I quote, grant you permission, to form an attachment to the man."

Rose's eyes widened and her stomach fluttered. That statement had hit really close to home. It took her a second to work up the courage to reply, but when she did, her response was stunted by emotion.

"Sometimes…um…sometimes I feel like I have to choose. You know, like take a side. You or him, and you're here, and alive and it's so much easier to, er, choose you but it makes me feel guilty…really guilty when I do because, well, he was…my daddy. I thought about and needed him for so long when I was little, but he died, and now I don't have him anymore and I still need someone."

She had to give Severus credit. He held it together even though Rosie had never heard him speak with such concern or tenderness in her life. His voice was sincere as he spoke, casting any doubt that she had in his motivations aside.

"Rose Lily, you listen to me. You do not have to choose between myself and your father. I would _never_ ask that of you. You can love James Potter without any regard for my opinion of him, without guilt, and without fear of angering me."

"Do you really mean that?" She choked.

"Of course, I do child. You have every right to love, and miss, and need your father. As much as you may wish for me to take that place, we will always have a different relationship than you would have had with him. You are the closest thing to a child that I will ever have, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that you remain well, but I would not ever expect you to give up James Potter in return."

Rosie lunged forward, the cloak falling to the ground, winding her arms around Severus and burying her face into his shoulder. The man sighed.

"Had I known that you felt this way, the situation could have been remedied much sooner." He spoke as she embraced him.

"I didn't even know I felt that way." She whispered back.

"Indeed, your wolf has been successfully pinpointing your allegiances since your first conversation. Perhaps it is a…pack trait."

"Severus…be nice. Um… can I ask you another question? It's not about my dad though."

"When have I ever prohibited you from asking a question?"

"A simple yes or no would do." Rosie grumbled.

"Then, yes. What is your question?"

"Where am I supposed to get a bathing suit?"

His nose wrinkled in response. "Hogsmeade I would presume. In two weeks, you will be allowed another Hogsmeade weekend."

"Oh ok, er… what kind should I get? I've never had one."

This question was obviously uncomfortable for Severus. He rubbed his temples and looked down at her. "Try to remember that you will be seen in front of the entire school wearing it…that is my only suggestion. Keep in mind that anything with fabric to…delicate, will be more likely to fall off."

"Got it. Severus says don't be a slut." Rosie repeated, smirking.

"I did not say that."

"That's what you meant though."

"Just…keep in mind what I have said." He glared, placing his cloak around her shoulders once again.

He walked her back up to Gryffindor tower, and left her in the portrait hole. That night, she lay in her bed cuddling the stuffed Lily bear that he'd made her and contemplating what he'd said. Rosie would let Moony know soon that the potions master had talked to her…maybe he would tell Sirius. She'd do almost anything to make those two get a long, even if it was just pretend.


	75. Chapter 75

Rosie had been on her way to lessons with Sirius when Professor Moody accosted her. As soon as she saw him turn out of the defense office and head in her direction, Rose changed sides of the hallway and looked down. The last thing that she had wanted was to talk with him. Besides Moony, she didn't usually have much luck with defense professors, and this one was no different. Despite her efforts to avoid the professor, Rosie had no such luck. On top of his blatant cruelty to her in class, Moody seemed to have a penchant for seeking her out, finding her at the most inopportune times.

When the horrible auror approached, it was with a speed that he shouldn't possess, due to the wooden leg, and his face was wrought with an emotion that Rose really didn't like.

"Potter. I wanted to congratulate you on your quick work with the Hungarian horntail in the first task." He said, his body moving to trap her against the wall.

The stance was not close enough to be threatening to, perhaps, a different student, but to Rosie it certainly was, and he knew it.

"Um…thanks sir." She looked away. "I'd better be off. I have a lesson."

"Not so fast girl." He growled, reaching out and twisting her around by her arm so that she had to look at him.

Rosie flinched and tried to pull her arm away, but he wouldn't let her. "P…professor…" She began, her voice breathy and nervous.

"Oh, calm down Potter, I'm not going to rape you."

Her mouth dropped open, shocked by his words and her chest tightened with anxiety, the corridor was much too empty.

"I just want to know if you've found a strategy for the second task yet." He continued gruffly. "It's important that you're prepared."

"That's none of your business sir." Rosie tried. "I have all the help I need."

"Is that right?" He moved closer, his disfigured body just inches from her own. She was beginning to panic in earnest now.

"Yes, so please leave me alone."

"I can help you." He menaced once again, his false eye whizzing furiously.

Before Rosie had worked up the courage to scream, a voice sounded from behind her, and she knew that she would be alright.

"I believe the lady told you to leave her be, Mad-eye." Sirius crooned.

Exhaling in relief as Moody stepped off her, Rosie had to stop herself from running straight over to Siri's side. Instead, she took it at a slower pace, but still ended up next to him, a hand clutching the fabric of his overcoat.

"Sirius Black. Nice to see you up and about." Moody stuck out a hand to him.

Siri stared at it, and then back at Rosie. He did not take the professor's hand.

"It'd be nice to say the same… I've never known you to walk around scaring the skirts off little girls, but maybe I'm wrong."

The auror dropped his hand and his eyes narrowed as he stuck out his chest. "Was just tryin' to help the lass out."

"We've got that covered, thanks." Sirius snapped, draping an arm over her shoulder and leading her away towards the practice room.

When Moody was gone, he turned to her, his face full of concern.

"You alright Prongslet? I haven't the foggiest what got into Mad-eye there."

"I…I'm fine. Sorry. He's like that all the time." She breathed, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to squash the fear and embarrassment that she felt.

"Right. Well, listen love. I know you freeze up, when you're afraid, but just let me see if we can make this stick." He touched a finger to her temple as though he were trying to implant knowledge into her skull.

"I'm gonna teach you the fastest way to get any man off you in an instant, yeah?"

Rosie lifted her gaze curiously and nodded.

"Excellent. Now, all you've gotta do is come in real close here…" He directed her to stand in front of him, hands on her shoulders.

"Good girl. Next, you bring that right knee up, uh huh, exactly, and you drive it right into'im where it hurts the most, got er?"

Rosie blushed. "You're not serious."

"Well, actually, yes I am hon."

"That's the dumbest joke ever Siri." A small smiled flashed across her face.

"You want me to go around kicking people in the bollocks?"

"Yup. Hard as you can darlin'. That'll take care of 'em. Even you-know-who himself wouldn't stand a chance."

"But that's so…erm, rude."

Sirius lifted her chin to look at him. "I don't give a shit who it is…anybody grabs you like that, you have full permission not to be polite. Understand?"

Rosie took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. I got it. Thanks Siri."

"You'd better not just be saying that kid. It scares the shit out of me, thinking of you…er, defenseless."

She cringed. "Let's just start the lesson." Rose suggested, pulling him into the training room.

Wordless magic as it turned out was approximately one thousand times harder than regular magic. Siri tried to be patient with her, but it wasn't working very well. They stuck to the basics, 'lumos', cutting spells, 'bombarda' in case something got in her way.

"C'mon Rosie, you've got this. You just need to be able to concentrate. Control your mind enough to focus on the spell."

"Control my mind…? Like occlumency?"

Sirius nodded slowly. "Yes… exactly like occlumency. Wait, are you an occlumens?" He sounded surprised.

"Oh, not nearly no, Severus just taught me the basics after Lockhart, you know, to control my emotions. He didn't teach me much more than how to numb thoughts and memories."

"Hmm. Well that's something to go off at least. Five points to Slytherin." He winked and Rosie giggled.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when you'd praise Slytherin." She teased.

He smirked. "Only because it helped you precious. Nothing good ever came out of the snake den."

Rosie bit her lip, trying to decide whether or not she should ask.

"What about…Regulus?" She continued daringly.

Siri froze. The smirk died on his lips and his breath caught.

"How do you know about Regulus?" His tone was sharp.

"Malfoy."

Rose's ex-godfather had grown uncomfortable. She could tell because he was fidgeting. He almost never lost his confidence.

"It's like I said. Nothing good ever came out of Slytherin house."

"Draco said he was…ruthless. That was the word he used."

Sirius sat down on the mat and Rosie sat with him. She regretted upsetting him. Rose only hoped he wouldn't lock himself away for too long because of her questions.

"The kid's not wrong. Regulus was everything that I never was. He was the son that I could never be. He died, when I was in Azkaban, my parents too, died a death eater. Not much of a loss if you ask me."

"Do you really mean that? You didn't love him…even still?"

"Do you love Dudley Dursley?"

Rosie frowned. "No, I don't."

"There's your answer then Little Prongs. Far as I'm concerned, James was the only brother I ever had. They practically adopted me, the Potters."

"You… you would've died for them wouldn't you have…the Potters that is?"

"I still would. In a heartbeat Rosie." He looked her in the eyes, grabbing onto her hand lightly to pull her back up.

That's when Rose remembered that she too was a Potter. Yes, Sirius was a strange friend, but she didn't mind. It was nice after all, to have people who cared.

The morning of the second task. Rosie woke up nervous. She had all the tools to complete the task, and she knew it, but that knowledge didn't do anything for the nerves. Sirius had been thorough, and by the time the task rolled around, she was able to successfully cast lighting, cutting, releasing, and explosion charms soundlessly…On top of this, he'd taught her how to cast and sustain the bubblehead charm in an emergency. Rose was still young, and her magic wasn't equipped yet to maintain a bubblehead for an entire hour, but for a few minutes she wasn't too shabby.

Moony had shifted all focus of his lessons onto water creatures, and Rose was pretty sure she wouldn't have any problems there. The biggest hurdle had been the swimming. However, Severus, who made true to his promise, had been bringing her out to the lake every Friday night to practice. He had assured her that when it came to breathing underwater, that he himself would make sure she was able. Her guardian guaranteed her that in that area, Rose would not have to do anything.

Severus had said that as her teacher, it would be inappropriate for him to be seen standing next to her in a bathing suit in front of the entire school, so Rosie stood nervously with Moony and Sirius who had both come to watch the task while the potions master remained in the stands with the headmaster. Her swim suit was plain. It had two pieces, but they were both modest, and it seemed to be designed for exercise, or competitive swimming. She certainly had not wanted to attract more attention to herself. Fleur, who seemed just as nervous as Rosie, had the same idea.

Sirius was charming her hair into a braid, and Moony was fussing over her, making sure that she knew every last-minute detail about water creatures. When it came time for the champions to stand and take their marks, Rosie was trembling. She could see Ced and his dad high fiving from the other dock and wished that she possessed the same confidence.

"Oh Princess, you'll be ok. Nothing bad is gonna happen. We won't let it." Moony whispered, caressing her cheek softly.

He kissed her forehead and pressed something wet and slimy into her hand. It was a plant, kind of like algae. She looked up, confused, and Moony winked.

"Your gift from Severus. You need to eat this, and you'll be able to breathe under water for an hour."

"If you take longer than the hour, remember the bubblehead Prongslet." Siri poked her from behind.

She nodded nervously and danced on the spot as Dumbledore explained the task. When the countdown began, Moony forced the squishy green plant into her mouth and Rosie chewed it. Her throat felt like it was on fire as she swallowed, and by the time the headmaster reached the number one, she could feel the slits on her throat beginning to form. Severus had given her gills. Of course he had.

The other champions all dived effortlessly off the docks, as though perhaps, they had entered willingly into the tournament, but Rosie stood frozen.

"Rosie. You have to get in the water my love." Moony urged from behind her, his voice preoccupied.

She didn't respond.

"Oh, fucking hell." Rose heard from farther back, and before she knew it, a pair of large hands were on her back and she was flung forward off the dock and into the lake.

Sirius Black was such a git. Her body was shocked into alertness by the cold and her teeth began to chatter. Moony was looking down at her, but he was waving his hand like she ought to be swimming away. Siri looked annoyed.

Rosie took her last deep breath on land and turned herself in the water slowly as Severus had taught her to do, sticking her head underneath. The first thing she noticed was the she couldn't bloody see. It took a moment for her thoughts to catch up with her, but Rose realized that it was for this exact reason that Siri had taught her to cast Lumos without sound. She could be really thick sometimes.

Drawing her wand from her bathing suit bottom, Rosie did as she had been instructed and the lake was illuminated for her to see. Somehow, that made it even creepier. She had no idea which way she was supposed to go so she just began to swim through the seaweed aimlessly. If Rosie could've screamed, she would've, when none other than Moaning Myrtle appeared in front of her.

"Why hello there ickle Rosie." The dead girl giggled, and Rose's eyes widened. Why on earth was Myrtle swimming around the black lake?

"I've been sent to…point you, but…I'd rather like something in return." She squirmed with some sort of weird ghost emotion.

By that time, Rose had already begun to follow the spirit, picking up the faint sound of a familiar singing.

"You see…I saw, what you were doing with the handsome boy, Cedric Diggory in the prefect's bathroom. I want you to teach me about...boys!" Myrtle was cackling madly now, but she was still leading Rosie along.

She blushed hot beneath the water, a stark contrast to the frigid temperature as she pictured the ghost observing their little rendezvous. Apparently nowhere was safe.

Not seeing any way out of this situation, and unable to speak, Rosie just nodded. Myrtle squealed and began to move faster until she was hard pressed to keep up. It was strange. The only obstacle that Rose encountered at all on the path with Myrtle was a handful of grindylow, which she easily flicked away with her wand, forcing them to release her ankle. The ghost girl had said that she'd been sent to help, but by who? Were there ghosts leading every champion?

The singing grew increasingly louder, and as it did, a structure of sorts began to come into view. It appeared to be an underwater building, or a small castle, and surrounding it was a mess of mermaids. Though, they were definitely not pretty with red hair, shell bras, and shiny green fins like Ariel…Actually, mermaids were quite unattractive creatures, and they were all carrying tridents. Myrtle decided at that moment to take her leave, teasing her about Ced one last time, and shooting up in the direction of the surface.

It was then that Rosie was confronted with what had been taken. She had been quite put out earlier that Ginny had decided to skip the task that morning as she'd searched for the familiar red hair in the crowd…However, now Rose understood why. Ginny had been put to sleep and strung up by her arms in the center of two other boys. She recognized one of the boys as Ced's Ravenclaw best friend, Michael, and the other was a Durmstrang student. Beside the Nordic boy was the unmistakable figure of Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's little sister. They all appeared to be safe, just enchanted, and Rosie figured that she was meant to bring just Ginny up to the surface.

Moving closer, Rose bypassed the mermaids apprehensively, and approached her best friend.

It was apparent that she would have to cut the binds that restrained the girl, but for some reason, she just couldn't get the charm to work. The cutting spell was harder to do wordlessly than the lumos or the releasing charm, but she'd done it successfully before. Rosie was beginning to get frustrated, and she wasn't quite sure what time it was or how long she had left. She gave her wand one last wave, and the rope split and released. However, it hadn't been her.

Cedric swam up from behind, wrapping his arms around her stomach and smiling. He was prevented from giving her a kiss through his bubblehead, but she knew that he would've had he been able. The boy tapped his wrist, where he wore a watch and nodded seriously toward Ginny whilst detaching his own friend.

Rosie wrapped her arms around the girl and began to follow her boyfriend up to the surface, until she heard a muffled scream from below. It was Fleur. Her bubblehead was still intact, but she was being quickly dragged under the floating plants by a pack of grindylow. The girl seemed to be in a panic, and Rose's heart jumped into her throat.

Reaching up to catch Ced's foot in her hand, the boy startled and looked down. Rosie motioned towards Fleur with her wand, and let go of Ginny, who floated up towards Cedric. He caught her friend's hand and frowned until Rose nodded for him to continue. The boy left her in the Mermaid kingdom as he swam toward the surfaced with Michael and Ginny.

Rosie dived as quickly as she could back down towards Fleur and tried desperately to pull the French girl from the clutches of the creatures. She cast as best as she could, and eventually, they backed off. However, Fleur appeared worse for wear. The girl's bubble had popped, and she was squirming, her lungs taking in water, and her body seizing.

In that moment, Rose could've kissed Sirius for teaching her to silently cast the charm. It took everything she had, her very best control of mind, but, probably in part due to adrenaline, she managed a weak bubblehead charm. Rosie knew it wouldn't last long, but it was a relief to see Fleur sputter, cough, and then draw breath as she clasped onto the blonde girl's hand.

She dragged the other girl over to where her sister was still restrained and sighed internally as she realized that she still didn't know the charm that Ced had used to cut Ginny's binds.

Rosie tried everything that she knew, but it was hard to tell if the charms weren't working because they were wrong, or because they were being cast silently. By that time, Krum had come around and taken his friend as well making it so that they were the only ones still down there.

She cursed in her mind and tried to formulate a plan. Fleur was barely conscious, and her weight, though not much, was awkward and uncomfortable. The bubble was shrinking, and Rosie took a deep breath herself and shut her eyes. She had an idea, but she thought that the consequences might be severe. With as much volition as possible, Rose turned her wand and pointed it at a mermaid. She practically screamed the spell in her head and prayed that it would work.

"Accio trident."

The affected mermaid screeched with indignation as her trident came floating towards Rose and the other mermaids began to form around her, approaching angrily. Making quickly work, Rosie took the trident in her free hand and aimed it at the binds, which broke instantly. Sometimes the muggle way was the best way.

Now that Gabrielle Delacour was free and the mermaids thoroughly pissed off, she was free to begin their ascent. It was really hard to swim with a person on either side of her and the mermaids were not forgiving. They followed swiftly, and Rosie wanted Severus to come save her now. Closer to the surface than before, but still too far, she grasped onto the rope that was still tied to Gabrielle's wrist, and worked on attaching the other half to Fleur's wrist. Although she could feel her magic draining, she recast the bubble around the French champion's head as it waned, and point her wand at them again, now tied together.

"Ascendio." She commanded, somehow knowing that it would work. The girls shot up towards the surface and Rosie prayed that they'd make it.

It was in the same moment that the mermaids caught up with her and began to grasp at her ankles. Rose's breathing was becoming shorter, and she realized with horror that the gills were disappearing. Her lungs began to scream in protest, but she didn't feel like she had the strength for another bubblehead. Rosie could taste her own blood as the mermaid's left scratches and cuts on her legs and she was pretty sure that blood was the last thing she'd ever taste. There were spots appearing in her consciousness and the only thing that she could hear was Siri's voice, his anger, accusing her of having no fight instincts.

The problem was that she didn't know how to fight this. Rosie's chest ached as she swallowed the coppery water, her head nodded back, and she drifted off into a half-sleep, curling into Severus' chest, his arms encircling her tightly. She would be safe with Severus… Rose sighed. The moment that she gave in was the moment her magic recoiled.

She could practically feel the ripple of power beginning in her toes and travelling up towards her hands. The mermaids were blasted back, and Rosie went flying upwards until her head broke the surface. Coughing and gasping for air, with tears streaming down her face, somebody's hands came down under her armpits and she was lifted out of the water and placed on her back on what was presumably the dock.

With her chest heaving, Rosie`s vision began to return. The first thing she saw was Moony's face. His expression was the same as when she'd seen him transform the previous year, but he wasn't looking at her face. His eyes were trained on her legs, which were stinging and sore.

It didn't take long before she was sat up and Severus appeared by her side followed by Dumbledore. Moony held her against him as the potions master ran his wand up and down her legs, healing the wounds. Everything was very overwhelming. She couldn't tell who was where, or what had happened. Where was Fleur? And Gabrielle? Merlin, where was Ginny?

Rosie couldn't stay awake. Her eyelids were heavy, and her vision blurred. The last thing she remembered was Moony's voice pleading with her not to sleep before she was dragged away again, slipping into a deep slumber.


	76. Chapter 76

When Rosie came to, Severus was there. She was in a bed in the infirmary. Her eyes fluttered open and her guardian straightened up where he had been slumped against a chair.

"S…Severus?" Rose croaked, reaching her hand out weakly.

He caught her hand in his own and squeezed lightly. "Child."

"You left me to die." She accused, her voice was feeble.

Rosie startled as another voice cut through the silence.

"Actually, my dear, Severus nearly hexed me trying to get to the lake when he realized that the hour had passed, and you had not resurfaced." Dumbledore explained.

"Why'd you leave me?"

"Rose." Severus' voice was pained. "If I had known…I…I'm sorry." The potions master's voice was tired, weak, and full of regret.

"It is my fault." Dumbledore spoke again. "I left Miss Delacour in danger too long when her warning sounded. If you had not been drawn to help Fleur, then you would have made it safely to the top. When your alarm sounded, I did not react quick enough. I restrained Severus and insisted that you be allowed to finish."

"Fleur, is she ok?" Rosie fretted.

Severus rubbed a thumb over her hand lightly. "The girl was unconscious when she reached the surface, but your charm held, and she was breathing. The younger Delacour awakened upon arrival and helped her sister to the dock, where she was further revived."

"Oh, thank goodness." She breathed. Did Ced make it up with Ginny?"

"Indeed, Diggory scored the most points."

"Good. He undid Ginny's bindings for me. I couldn't do it. Gabrielle's either. The cutting spell didn`t work. I had to steal a trident from the mermaids for Gabrielle. Hence the injuries."

"You should have left the younger Delacour."

"I wasn't going to leave Fleur's sister alone. It was fucking creepy down there. Oh, I so hate swimming Severus, and this tournament, and Sirius."

"Had I not been otherwise located, I would have pushed you in myself, god knows your wolf wasn't going to do it."

"That's because Moony's actually nice to me." She stuck out her tongue.

"He babies you."

"No, you baby me. You won't even disarm me."

Her guardian harrumphed and Dumbledore chuckled.

Rosie was feeling giggly from whatever potions she'd been given. "Maybe if you taught me all those nasty spells, next time one of my stupid professors tries to kill me in the hall I won't let him."

Severus stilled. "Which professor tried to kill you in the corridor?"

"I told you he's mean. I hate him. He did this to me." She muttered sleepily, taking Severus' arm and twisting it weakly to show him.

"Severus, who is she referring to?" Dumbledore asked cautiously.

"Alastor no doubt. He is exceptionally…unkind to her."

"Siri said to kick him in the bollocks."

"Excellent advice from Mr. Black." The headmaster hummed. "I will speak to him Severus."

Rosie felt herself teetering on the edge of consciousness, her eyelids weighted down and heavy.

"Sleep child." The potions master permitted, her hand still clutched around his arm.

"I love you Severus, you're the best ever." She muttered tiredly as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Severus exhaled smoothly as his Rose fell asleep, thanking Merlin that she had been able to resurface when she did, praising fate that she had survived yet another one of these wretched tasks. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Albus cleared his throat. "It does amaze me how it so often takes the darkest of times to create the strongest of bonds."

"Do not think for a second that I wouldn't go back in time and neuter that monster before he ever got the chance to touch her."

"You would give up her devotion to you to prevent Lockhart?"

"Without a second thought." He confirmed.

"I must say, love looks good on you my dear boy. I have been so fortunate to witness the very best of you throughout the years Severus."

The potions master just grumbled.

Severus stayed until Black and Lupin returned and then, unwilling to spend too long in the company of dogs, he got up and left.

When Rosie awoke next it was to soft conversation. She never intended to eavesdrop, but she wanted to hear.

"She's going to be angry that you pushed her into the lake."

"Yeah well, what were you gonna do? Sooth her in?"

"Something like that." Moony responded.

"I'm so bloody proud of her for casting that bubblehead twice like she did. She had such a hard time with it in lessons."

"Rosie has a saving people thing, so I've been told. She can do almost anything if it's for someone else."

"I just wish she'd protect herself." Siri sighed and Rose could feel him touch her arm.

"Fuck, you should've seen Mad-eye have a go at her the other day. I don't know why but she's a bloody magnet for danger."

"Don't be so hard on her Padfoot. She's had it really rough, in between that uncle of hers and god, to think that she actually had to live those memories… I'm surprised she even let's us anywhere near her."

Rosie had to prevent herself from flinching at that.

"What was she like? You know, as a little girl? Before…Lockhart?"

She felt like that was her cue to wake up, mostly because she was scared to hear the answer that Moony'd give if he thought she couldn't hear. Stretching, Rose mumbled a response.

"Exactly the same as now." She croaked, her throat still sore from the lake water.

"Oh, there's my girl." Moony smiled happily, kissing her forehead.

"I didn't visit much, you have to remember Sirius, but she was cute. Very very cute."

"Hmm. Was?" Rose crossed her arms.

"Well you're not that cute now." Siri interjected. "More like…. erm, cute, but in a grown-up sort of way."

"I think the word you're looking for is beautiful, Padfoot." Her guardian suggested.

"Yeah…well that."

Rosie let out a laugh.

"She was really small. I always worried that maybe she wasn't growing properly." Moony continued, looking at Siri. "But she was very imaginative, and very polite. Rosie never said, 'thank you' less than ten times. I always thought it would creep her out, having a strange man visit her, but it never seemed to."

"I would've followed you anywhere." Rose bit her lip.

That made Moony frown.

"When was…uh…the last time?" Sirius prodded.

Her guardian was quiet now. They'd never really discussed this before.

"My eighth birthday."

The werewolf took a deep breath. "What did you do on your ninth birthday?" He asked finally.

Rosie exhaled. "Moony… I don't wanna talk about this."

"Honey tell me. I can take it."

"Remus." The other man cautioned, maybe we should talk about something else.

"I didn't do anything Moony. The only reason I ever even thought about my birthday was because it was when you came. I just…waited. That's all. I was excited at first…then I wasn't anymore."

"Oh god." He breathed, looking down.

"Listen. It doesn't matter now. It happened, and it sucked, and it's not like you wanted it to happen either. Now, I have you, all the time, anytime I want, so I'd go through it again to have what I have now."

Moony stayed quiet.

Rosie looked desperately to Sirius. "Siri fix him" She pleaded.

"Remus, c'mon, you're upsetting Rosie. At least you didn't abandon her with Hagrid in the middle of a burnt-out house just to go out and get yourself locked in Azkaban for twelve years. I'm the whole bloody reason she had to live with the Dursleys. Honestly, she loves you to death, we love you, it's all in the past."

The werewolf sighed sadly and pursed his lips. "I'm so sorry princess. If I could go back in time, Merlin, I'd take you anywhere you wanted." He stood up and planted a kiss on her head.

"Moony, don't go." She begged as he turned to leave. He didn't listen.

As soon as his figure disappeared, Rosie burst into tears.

"Aw, Prongslet, please don't cry. I hate when you cry. C'mere." Sirius whispered.

"I'm not even mad at him." She sobbed into Siri's shirt. "I'm never mad at him."

"I know love, but Remus, he's sensitive about that stuff. He didn't think that he'd be allowed custody of you because of his condition, and now he has it anyways, and so he feels pretty guilty that he didn't fight for you then."

"God. It doesn't matter Siri. None of it matters because if things didn't happen the way that they did with the Dursleys and Lockhart and all of that horrible stuff, I wouldn't have Severus, or you guys, and I'm so bloody grateful right now for what I do have."

"Even if I did push you into the lake?" He winked, trying to lighten to mood.

"That was not nice Siri." She shot him a watery smile.

"I'm so proud of how you handled yourself down there kid. You're a real Gryffindor, that's for sure. "

"Thanks. Just one more task and I can forget about it and pretend that this year was all one big nightmare."

"Yeah but the next task is gonna be the hardest I bet. We can't slow down your training."

"Ugh. I know, I couldn't even get my cutting spell to work underwater Siri, Ced had to undo Ginny's binds for me."

"That's my fault Prongslet, I didn't think they'd make it resistant to your standard spell."

"Siri, will you please tell Moony that I'm not upset with him, and that he should stop being upset with himself. I could never be cross with him for that, just like I'm not mad at you for Azkaban. Though, I am still pissed about the lake, and pretending to be my dog."

"You're still mad about that?"

"It was a violation of privacy."

"It's because you told me about what's his name isn't it?"

"Lockhart?" Rosie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's mostly for that reason. I didn't like that you took the decision away from me, in telling you I mean."

"Why was that such a big deal… me knowing? I would never have said anything to you about it if you never brought it up."

"Because Siri…it's embarrassing. I feel like it's the first thing anyone thinks of when they look at me. I don't like people thinking I'm weak. I couldn't even stop my own professor from…well, you know." She huffed.

"Woah, no no. I do not think you're weak. You Baby Potter, are the strongest person I know."

"Ugh, no way. You are not calling me Baby Potter, that's not a thing." Rosie rose up to sit on her knees, pointing a finger at his chest. "I already put up with Prongslet."

"Like you don't enjoy the attention." He grinned back.

"Oh, shut up. If you're going to call me a baby, at least admit that I'm cute."

"No way. You were a really cute baby, but cute people don't cuss like you do, and they definitely don't push their sweet and well-intentioned mass murdering godfathers to the ground."

"That's because my godfather was supposedly the reason that my parents died. You're not my godfather anymore. You are my Sirius, it's different."

"Alright then, what does a Sirius do differently from a godfather?" He crossed his arms. This topic seemed to be of interest to him. Rosie could feel the conversation turning serious quick.

"He makes me so astonishingly furious in his quest to enlighten me with the truth and pushes me into lakes." She glared playfully.

"Naw, c'mon I wanna talk about this. What makes me different?" His voice took on a whiny quality.

"It's just like I said. You're honest with me, like my reality check. You let me know when something needs to change. You know, your voice is like the narrator in my head now when I'm in danger. All I could think about when I was drowning was how pissed off you'd be because I didn't fight harder."

Siri frowned. "You're gonna make me cry kid. Stop talking like that."

"One day I'm gonna surprise you Sirius Black." Rosie smiled.

"I have no doubt about that Baby Potter." He shook his head as she barred her teeth, the silly nickname rousing her once again.

When Rosie was released from the hospital wing, she sought people out in order of her level of anxiety over their wellbeing. She found Fleur first, who gushed over Rose once again, thanking her profusely for her actions in the lake. Next, she looked for Ginny, who she didn't get to talk to because she'd encountered her friend in a rather compromising position with Dean. Rosie took that as a good sign, both of her physical and mental health.

Finally, she sought out Cedric. He had been sitting outside the Gryffindor common room for ages apparently, waiting for her to be released. Ced told Ginny that when he'd tried to visit her in the hospital wing, Severus had snapped, snarled, and glared at him until he was forced to leave. That had made Rosie laugh.

Severus was not nearly as forgiving as she was. On the topic of forgiveness, Meadow had been making herself scarce. Rose still felt pangs of jealousy, and even hurt when she'd occasionally see Ced off on his rounds, but the negative feelings were weakening with time. Malfoy had also not spoken to her since the Yule Ball. She'd assumed he would be pressing her for more sex, but she thought that maybe Pansy had been angry about his not-so-innocent dancing with her and was keeping him on a tight leash.

Cedric kissed her lips when she arrived at Gryffindor tower and pulled back, a wide smile on his face.

"Rose, I'm so glad you're alright."

Rosie grinned and pressed a series of playfully chaste kisses on his lips. "Thank you for helping, and for indulging me in the lake."

"You're the hero Miss Potter, my favorite Gryffindor."

"I'm sorry Severus didn't let you in to see me. He can be…well you know Severus."

"Yeah, he hates me Rose. I still do ok in potions, but he used to be civil with me, now it's like I've…well, I guess I did, hurt you." The boy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and winced.

"I'm sorry." She groaned. "I couldn't help it, with Moony at home, the only person I had to cry to was Severus."

Ced let out a snort of laugher. "It's no big deal. I can't picture that though, I can't picture Snape comforting anyone."

"He mostly just stares in horror at the first sign of emotion and nods until I shut up and hug him."

"Kinda like me then?" He laughed.

"Yeah sort of." She winked. "Now, how far are in the lead after your heroic rescue of two hostages mister?" Rosie pressed, knowing that he liked to talk about the tournament.

"Just barely! You're right behind."

"What? How? I failed the task."

"Yeah but you failed it to save Fleur, so you got extra points for outstanding moral fiber, was what Dumbledore said."

"How very Gryffindor of him." She giggled. "Oh well, you can have the cup. I'm just out to survive the next task.

"I love that you're so relaxed about all this. You just take each task as it comes."

"Oh, that's just what I want you to think Ced. I'm like, the exact opposite. You know, I couldn't even swim before this last task. I had to be taught to swim."

"Wait…are you serious?"

"No, I'm Rosie." She stuck out her tongue.

"Wha? Oh god was that a joke about Sirius?"

"Yes, it was. It's his joke, I'm just borrowing it."

"Wow, that was lame." He rolled his eyes. "You weren't joking though? You couldn't swim? How?"

"Er, yeah, that's what happens when you live with people who hate you. They don't teach you normal things, like swimming."

"Well, if you're ever up for some late-night practice, let me know, and make sure you wear that bathing suit of yours." Ced waggled his eyebrows.

"I might just take you up on that." Rosie sighed happily, running her hand across his chest. She wondered briefly if he changed the subject from her relatives because she was uncomfortable or because he was.

 **A/N- Just some after task fluff. Thanks for reading!**


	77. Chapter 77

**A/N- I was just going over the last half of the story and realized how much Rosie cries. Poor thing. My sister is like that, she cries over everything. Maybe that's where some of the inspiration came from. Thanks for all the subscribers to the story! Warms my heart to see them! I go to every single one of your profiles to see if you've written anything and to look through other stories that you like. I am still an avid fanfiction reader.**

It was not long after the end of the second task that the champions were made aware of the third task's structure. This time, there was no guesswork or speculation involved as to what it would entail. As Rosie walked hand in hand down on the grounds, chatting on and off with Fleur, Krum followed more closely to Ludo Bagman, who led them.

Fleur loved Rose and Cedric together, she thought they were a perfectly well-matched pair. Of course, the French girl didn't know about Meadow or Malfoy, but it was nice to get some reassurance from someone every once in a while. Between her guardians and Sirius, Rose wasn't really used to anyone being pro-Ced.

The quidditch pitch was in the process of being turned into a maze, a hedge maze that would be filled with any number of horrible, dangerous creatures and traps. The champions would be forced to fight their way through the maze to reach the goblet in the center, which would declare them the winner of the tournament. She and Ced would be able to enter quicker than the other two because they were first and second place respectively.

Cedric was the only one who, once again seemed excited by the prospect. He was so bloody happy all the time. Fleur and Viktor appeared to have grown weary with the tournament, at least Rosie knew that Fleur had. She'd been pressured by Madame Maxine to join and hadn't fully comprehended the risks. Viktor was quite possibly just emotionless about everything. The pair had not spoken a word to each other since the Yule Ball, and the atmosphere between them was nothing short of tense.

Already stressed about the third task, it did nothing but add more weight when Viktor approached her and Ced, and asked gruffly,

"Rose. May I speak vith you a moment? Alone."

Her immediate reaction was to look up at Cedric, who was stony faced. His grip tightened on her hand. She wanted to say that anything he had to say, he could say in front of Ced, but that would be a lie. Rose had not told her boyfriend the extent of what had happened the night of the ball. He was only aware that she hadn't slept with him.

Biting her lip awkwardly, she stared up at Ced and blinked.

The boy closed his eyes for a second and then exhaled. "It's fine, go ahead. I'll meet you up at the castle?"

"No. Er, would you mind waiting?" Rosie asked. She didn't quite want to be alone with Viktor either.

Ced nodded and crossed him arms, adopting a bodyguard stance as Rosie was led away. Viktor brought her to the edge of the Forbidden forest, passing the tree line just enough so that Cedric was out of view.

Rose back and forth on the balls of her feet waiting for him to speak. She didn't look him in the eyes.

"Rose, I vonted to speak vith you now because I vont to make sure that things are clear between us."

"What exactly do you need cleared up?" She prodded nervously.

"Vell, I vonted to apologize for being too forward at the ball, and I vish for you to know that I did not mean any harm by you. I should not have done that vith you as you are much younger than me."

"Oh… well thanks. It's ok really, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? I don't vont to vake up one day to realize that you misinterpreted my actions as forceful."

Rosie's chest tightened and she flushed defensively. "Why would you say that?"

"I haff just been made aware of the accusations vith the celebrity Gilderoy Lockhart, and do not vish to have my career stunted by such rumors."

She couldn't stop her face from reacting. Rose's mouth dropped open and she took a step back. He thought she would accuse him of rape? They hadn't even had sex.

"You think I would make something like that up?"

Viktor looked uncomfortable now. "Vell, I just vonted to make sure that this vosn't a habit of yours. You never know vot is the truth these days, especially as a celebrity."

"A habit? Oh my god! That's an awful thing to say! He was my defense professor and I was twelve!" Her eyes began to sting.

"It is true then? You vere not interested in his money?"

"You have got to be joking. I have money, I don't need money. God, he raped me Viktor, multiple times, and then used memory charms to make me forget it ever happened!"

The seeker grunted and rubbed his neck, chagrined. "I didn't vont to upset you. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, you really shouldn't've." Rosie pulled at her hair, her emotions running high.

It was then that they heard a noise, a rustling sound, and the crunch of approaching footsteps. Viktor moved in front of Rosie and she peered around his torso just in time to witness a man stumble out of the depths of the forest, panic evident in his expression.

"Mr. Crouch?" Viktor asked, confusion evident in his tone.

Rose couldn't figure out what that name sounded so familiar, why he looked so familiar. The man began to speak, and it was clear that his mental faculties had been severely compromised.

"I…I need, speak…Dumbledore. Dumbledore, Dark Lord, gaining power. Take me, Dumbledore."

Rosie inched forward towards him, moving around Viktor.

"It's alright sir. Relax. We can take you to Dumbledore." She held out her hands cautiously, inviting him to come forward.

The man's hands were shaking as he took a few careful steps towards her, and Viktor put a hand on her shoulder.

"Vait. Ve don't know vot he is doing out here."

Just as Rosie was about to reassure him that they were close enough to the forest's edge for it to be safe, Viktor froze. However, he did not freeze because he was afraid. She saw the red flash of light hit him in the back before he hit the ground. He'd been stunned. Panic gripped her insides as Rose curled in on herself.

Someone had stunned Viktor. Someone else was there, and they were in danger. She couldn't move, couldn't do anything except shut her eyes, her whole-body trembling. Rosie heard the rustling of leaves behind her, and then screamed as she felt the impact of a spell against her back. The world went dark.

She awoke to Ced's voice, hissing at her in a hushed whisper.

"Rose…hey Rose, wake up. You're alright, I've gotcha." He soothed as he helped her to stand.

"Ced?"

"What happened?" His eyes were wide with nerves. Viktor still lay on the ground, frozen in place.

Rosie lunged into her boyfriend, tears leaking from her eyes as she clung to him.

"Alright. Okay, let's get you out of here. Just hold on a sec ok?" He rubbed her back and then pulled out his wand to rennervate Viktor.

Together, the three of them ambled back up towards the castle, with Rose still attached to Cedric's side, and the slightly dazed Bulgarian in tow. She thought he'd take her to Dumbledore's office, after what they'd just witnessed, but instead he brought her to Severus'. He was marking papers as usual when they walked through the door.

Severus' eyes widened in alarm at the sight before him. Rose stood in between Diggory and Krum, her small frame overpowered by their larger ones, and her face red and blotchy with tears.

An instinctual anger began its ascent from his stomach up to his chest.

"What is this?" He began slowly, glaring daggers at Diggory.

Both Rose and her unfortunate boyfriend opened their mouths to speak but were cut off by Krum, who was affectually, calmer than the pair of them.

"I vas speaking vith Rose at the mouth of the forest, ven Barty Crouch appeared, talking nonsense from instead the voods. Ve vere then stunned by an unknown attacker from behind and Diggory found us vonce the assailant had gone."

"Barty Crouch?" Severus clarified.

Rose piped up now, her voice was weak.

"He was looking for Professor Dumbledore. He said something about the Dark Lord, and then something about needing to speak with the Headmaster."

Severus nodded. That was odd, and he would certainly inform Albus; however, he was more concerned with the stunned child standing in front of him.

"Thank you, Mr. Krum." He nodded and the overgrown boy acknowledged him and then turned to bid Rose goodbye. Severus remembered vividly her tears from after the Yule Ball and sneered. He turned to Diggory.

"You may leave." Severus allowed, in a tone that implied that it was more than a suggestion.

Rose, ever the middle man, put her had on Diggory's chest and gave him a soft smile.

"I'll be fine now. Thanks, Ced. See you tomorrow?"

The idiot boy had the audacity to lean in and kiss her in the doorway before departing down the hall. When he was gone, the girl turned to him and exhaled.

"Oh Severus, it was dreadful. Viktor got stunned and then I just closed my eyes and waited for them to stun me!"

He moaned internally. Of course, she had. Rose was the exact opposite of himself. There seemed to be no part of her mind telling her to use magic, no instinct to fight or be combative. The only times that Severus' had seen her aggressive, she'd preferred to fight like a muggle.

"Child. In a situation such as this one, it would have been perfectly acceptable for you to use magic to defend yourself."

She just shrugged, looking away.

Severus sighed. "Look at me Rose."

Her emerald eyes met his cautiously as she chewed on her lip.

"Are you injured?"

Rose shook her head. "No, just spooked."

"Very well. I wish to teach you something."

That got her attention. It wasn't often that he offered to teach her anything, preferring to leave it to her dogfather and Black. Severus did not enjoy dueling with a terrified opponent. It did nothing but remind him of his days as a death eater.

"Teach me what?" her eyes narrowed.

"One of my _nasty_ spells." He glared, reiterating her words on the subject.

Severus led her to the practice room silently and shut the door. He turned to Rosie then and began his little speech.

"I am going to teach you a spell that could very well save your life if used correctly." He drawled. "However, it is of the utmost importance that you do not go around casting it whenever you are frightened."

"Okay…when do you want me to cast it?"

"When you are afraid for your life."

"Oh. Do you think that will happen often?" She whispered.

"I should hope not; however, I will sleep better knowing that you are prepared. It is a spell of my own invention, and it is used only by death eaters who would not think for a second before casting it at you."

"Is it a dark spell?"

"Indeed. Does that frighten you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yup, but I trust you Severus."

"Good. Then I would like you to watch first." He motioned towards the practice dummy on the other side of the room.

Rosie rarely got to see Severus doing any magic that wasn't domestic.

The spell was 'Sectumsempra.' And a large gash appeared down the center of the dummy in the pattern of the professor's wand movement.

"It cuts people." She observed lamely.

"Yes, it causes deep and penetrating lacerations and prompts the victim to hemorrhage."

"Ugh, I don't even want to know why you invented this." Rosie shook her head.

"I concur. You most likely do not. However, I wish for you to learn it, and learn the counter curse as well."

"Alright alright, teach me." She agreed as though she would've ever refused.

Severus got down to her level and began to teach her the incantation. It could be aimed anywhere, and in any pattern, used for causing wounds or cutting off body parts.

"This would've been a good spell to use on a certain piece of Lockhart's anatomy." Rosie observed. "Maybe I should have let you do that instead of going to trial."

"As much pleasure as that would give me, the Headmaster would most definitely have frowned upon it."

She laughed softly. "Oh well, next time then."

That comment seemed to piss him off. "There will be no next time." He snapped.

Rosie covered her mouth with her hand and coughed out the words, "False safety narrative."

"It is not funny Rose. You should not find humor in potential attempted rape."

"Sorry." She shook her head. "You know, Viktor was scared I was gonna accuse him of something…because of what happened with Lockhart. That's why he wanted to talk to me today."

Her guardian's face darkened. "That sounds like an admission of guilt."

"He didn't do anything to me Severus. I already told you that."

"Rose. I shudder to know anything more than absolutely necessary regarding you and sexual intimacy; however, you must know that the absence of the word no does not imply consent."

"What? What do you mean?" Her stomach fluttered nervously.

Discomfort settled in the man's features as he rubbed a hand across his face.

"Child. Just because you lay there and say nothing, does not mean that you have consented."

Rosie couldn't meet his gaze. "It…doesn't?"

The look that Severus gave her then was worse than any of the others…it was full of pity.

"No Rose. There is no excuse for any boy or man to ignore your obvious bodily signs of discomfort in favor of his own…outcome." He cringed.

"Well…what if it's not obvious?"

"It is always obvious. If you do not believe me, ask Black. There is a noticeable difference between a responsive or favorable reaction and an unwilling or resigned one."

She didn't need to ask Sirius. His voice had already been called into her head repeating, "You'd just lay there and take it."

Fidgeting uncomfortably, Rose moved her eyes to her feet. "Let's just keep practicing."

Severus reluctantly turned back towards the practice dummy and continued to teach her the Sectumsempra. It was not an extremely difficult curse to cast, being that there were no specific wand motions, and she began to pick it up. The counter curse was a bit more difficult. It was longer and required more attention and focus. Rosie wondered how many people Severus had cast it against, and why.


	78. Chapter 78

**A/N- Kay so I'm getting excited to write the third task, so we are gonna speed up time a little bit. I'll be writing one more chapter after this one, and then we will be jumping into that.**

Rosie moaned loudly, pain radiating through her face and head as she awoke. Hermione was at her bedside in a second.

"Rose. Are you alright?"

"Noooo." She groaned again, trying to sit up. Her hand moved up to touch her scar and she felt the familiar wetness. It was blood. Rose's scar was bleeding again.

The last time her scar had bled was at the beginning of summer. She'd had a dream similar to this one and Moony had rushed to get Dumbledore and Severus.

"Rosie… you're bleeding. What happened?"

"Can you get Severus?" She choked as the pain doubled.

"Like in his quarters? At night? What if he's asleep?" Hermione hissed.

"Mione…he won't care. Please, it`s important."

Tears leaked from her eyes and the pain forced her to close them altogether.

"If you have a headache we could go to the Infirmary." Her friend suggested warily.

"It's not a bloody headache Mione. I'll just go myself." She growled, throwing the covers off her and wobbling as her vision doubled.

"Could you at least help me floo there?" Rosie turned back.

Mione frowned and moved forward to do as she was asked, the idea of bothering a teacher at night apparently foreign to her.

The girls stumbled into the potion's office via floo and Rose was surprised and relieved to find that Dumbledore was already there, speaking with Severus when they came through.

"Rose dear, Miss Granger. How nice to…" The headmaster began but stopped when he noticed the blood on her head and hand.

"Did you have another dream?" The older man questioned as Severus moved silently over to appraise her scar.

"Yeah, I did. It was just like the last time." The potions professor guided her over to the desk and helped her to sit up on it, before disappearing into the store room to grab something.

Hermione watched nervously from the corner.

Dumbledore appeared pensive but waited until Severus came back into the room to ask Rosie to retell the dream. Her guardian dabbed some sort of liquid onto her forehead as she spoke.

"It was erm… the Dark Lord again." She whispered, avoiding the name for Severus' sake.

"He was torturing this man…a really creepy fellow with scars all over his face. He used the Cruciatus curse." Rose winced.

"Did he give a reason for the punishment my dear girl?"

"He said he couldn't believe that the man had let his blasted father get away. That he should've been keeping a closer eye on him. He shouldn't have escaped. The man apologized a lot and called him master. He said that he'd killed his father before he got a chance to talk to…erm, you sir."

Severus made eye contact with Dumbledore and then turned back to her forehead.

"I see…you said Rose, that the man had scars all over his face. Do you remember anything else about him?"

"Yeah, he was really weird. He had blond hair, super skinny, and he did this funny thing with his face. It was like a twitch, but he would like stick his tongue out to the side."

The headmaster's eyes widened a fraction of an inch and then he composed himself.

"Sir, do you think this had anything to do with what Viktor and I saw in the forest?" She asked, resting her head now on Severus' shoulder.

"It might've." He allowed, but Rose could tell that he and her guardian were deliberately withholding something.

It didn't bother her that much, as long as nobody was in danger.

"Why do I dream these things Sir?" Rosie asked again, her headache slowly receding.

"Ah, that is a mystery isn't it? Curse scars are interesting my dear. I do believe that your magic is now linked intricately with Voldemort's, but I also believe that the connection only shows itself when he is feeling a particularly strong emotion, or perhaps when he is near."

"Gosh." Rosie sighed. "I don't like this guy if he's only felt two strong emotions in ten months."

"Well then Rose, we'll have to add your name to the list of people who don't particularly like Lord Voldemort." He winked and Rose assumed he was making fun of her.

She stuck out her tongue at the Headmaster.

Severus swatted her hand. "Rose. Don't be disrespectful."

Rosie giggled. "What am I, four?" She eyed her scorned hand.

"You're acting like it."

"Not to worry Severus. I was rather being sarcastic with her." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at their interaction.

Hermione piped up from the corner. "Erm. Professor Dumbledore sir. Does this mean you think that you-know-who is close?"

"It could mean that, yes Miss Granger. Alas, only time will tell I'm afraid."

Rosie and Hermione were ushered back into the floo and towards Gryffindor tower once Severus was done assuring himself that she was in one piece. She didn't dream again that night and tried not to worry. Severus would keep her safe, that was something that Rose had no doubt about.

It wasn't until lessons with Moony the next day that she dared to ask more questions. Moony always obliged her questions, Severus not as much.

"Moony, who's Barty Crouch?"

"Where did you hear that name sweet pea?"

"That's the man that Viktor and I ran into in the forest. You know, I told you, the one who wanted to see Dumbledore."

"Honey, surely you were mistaken. How do you know it was him?"

"Well…that's what Viktor called him. Why? Who is he?"

"Barty Crouch is the man who put Sirius in Azkaban without a trial. He's the former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Wait are you serious?"

"Nope, I'm Remus sweetheart."

"Moony…" She growled.

"Yes, my love, he's the one who locked up our Padfoot. It turned out that his own son, Barty Crouch Jr. was a death eater too. It came as a great shock to everyone."

Rosie got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "What happened to his son?"

"Well, he died in Azkaban, years ago dear."

"Are you sure about that Moony?"

"What do you mean am I sure? Of course I'm sure. It was front page news." Her guardian smiled softly and caressed her cheek.

Rosie decided to drop the subject. She herself wasn't so sure that Mr. Crouch's son had actually died. Moony had her cast a patronus again just to make sure she still could on command and asked,

"How long do we have to prepare for this last task?"

Rose told him the date and frowned when Moony exhaled and dropped his head.

"What's wrong?" She poked at his shoulder.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry." His expression was downcast.

"What is it?"

"That's a full moon."

"Oh." Rosie bit her lip. That sucked.

The werewolf looked utterly devastated and her heart clenched at the sight.

"Aw Moony. It's not your fault. I'm not mad. I would never be mad at you for that." She tried to give him a hug.

He accepted, but his grasp was weak.

"I would do anything to be there for you princess. You know that right?"

"I know. Honest. I'm not angry."

"I just feel like I've been really screwing up with you lately love. I haven't been able to protect you when it really counts. After the trial, I know I hurt you. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my actions when you were a little girl too. I should've…"

"Moony stop. Please stop beating yourself up about that stuff. You're there for me all the time. You have no idea how grateful I am to have you in my life."

"But that's the thing Rosie, you shouldn't have to be so grateful because I should've always been there. James and Lily were my dearest friends and I didn't protect you like they would've wanted, and now I still can't."

"Do you have any idea how much I adore you Moony?" Rosie shot him a small smile.

"I was in the middle of reliving for the first time ever the memories of what happened with Lockhart, and you walked into that office, and I forgot it all."

He looked up.

"I forgot it all because, suddenly, there was my Moony. I don't know if Siri told you… but when we went to your work to buy that axe, over the holidays, the man at the register asked me if I was your daughter…hell, I burst into tears because I was so bloody proud to say yes."

The words had barely left her mouth before she had her arms full of dogfather. "You, are so very much like your mother Rosie Potter." He choked.

"Just a bit rougher around the edges." She finished for him, grinning.

"I wouldn't have you any other way love."

Her heart was full that evening when Rose left her lesson. However, the mood was short lived because on the way up to Gryffindor tower, she passed Malfoy, who was leaving detention with Professor McGonagall. Seizing the opportunity, the Slytherin boy pulled her into the adjoining hallway by her waist, his face breaking out into one of those evil scheming grins that he had perfected.

"Malfoy, why…?" She began but was cut off by his lips, which pressed against hers smoothly.

Rosie pushed him away.

"What the hell Potter?"

"I can't do this right now Malfoy. Ced and I are in a really good place… I don't want to start this all over again."

"C'mon, I could use this." He pushed.

"Yeah well, you seem to have been managing just fine the last few months. I'm sure you'll live."

"Something's happening you know, something big, and it has to do what the Dark Lord." Malfoy pinned her up against the wall lightly. She let him.

"Yeah, I kinda got that impression." Rose tilted her head away from him, preventing the boy from kissing her again.

"Just, be careful. Especially with this stupid tournament."

"Don't tell me you actually care." Rosie smirked.

"Just trying to get in your pants."

"Oh, I hate you." She shot back, but she knew he was joking. Malfoy had become a friend, sort of.

"What, you don't even want to give me a little something to remember you by until Diggory fucks the head girl again?" Malfoy gestured like she should get on her knees, and Rose recoiled.

"You're such a jackass, and no. I don't do… _that._ "

"What? You're too good to give head? Now I see Diggory's issue."

Rosie snarled. "Go fuck yourself."

"Aw, are you scared?" He taunted, until he saw her flinch.

"Oh fuck. You actually are scared, aren't you?"

She nodded silently. That was the one thing that Lockhart really had destroyed for life. Rosie was terrified of giving oral sex. Even the thought filled her head with all sorts of nasty emotions. Ced had never asked, and she had never offered.

"Shit, sorry. You don't have to. I was just messing with you."

"Thanks." She sighed, relaxing.

"He really fucked you up didn't he?" Malfoy prompted, referring to Lockhart.

"That's an understatement."

"I think…um, I think my father's done that to people before, muggles."

Rosie shivered, remembering Severus and Lucius sharing drinks together at her guardian's kitchen table.

"I've heard him talk about it. I think a lot of the death eaters did."

"Yeah, Remus said that." She lied, replacing Severus' name with Moony's.

"I don't want to be like that." The boy confessed awkwardly, rubbing his neck.

"So, don't be Draco. When the time comes, do what's right."

Rose stood on her toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, her hands resting on his chest.

"I'll see you around Malfoy." She smiled as she left him standing in the corridor.

Rosie really hoped that there would never come a time in which they would be pitted against each other. She didn't hate him enough for that. Actually, she didn't want to go up against anybody. The very idea of war could stay a distant concept for all that Rose was concerned. Proud of herself for refusing Malfoy, she returned to the common room to tuck in for the night, hoping that Moony was feeling better.


	79. Chapter 79

At dinner, on the night before the third task was to take place, Rosie received a note from Ced asking if she'd like to practice swimming that evening after curfew. Anticipation set in her stomach as she showed the note to Ginny.

"Does that mean sex in the lake?" Her friend raised an eyebrow, giggling.

Rosie laughed. "It could, but I don't think so. I think he just wants to go for a swim together. He's been talking about it since the last task."

"That's so sweet. I wish Dean would send me secret notes at dinner."

"I'll suggest it to him." She winked.

Ginny had forgiven Cedric when Rose had decided to.

"Why don't you guys come?" Rosie suggested.

"Who? Me and Dean?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun! I'd invite Ron and Hermione too but Mione'd rat us out."

"Probably better that way, Ron doesn't exactly enjoy seeing Dean and I together."

"Good, so you'll come then?" She asked hopefully.

"I guess so." Her redheaded friend smiled.

Contented, Rosie skipped off towards the dorms to relax for a while.

The invisibility cloak was too small to fit all three of them underneath it now, so Dean disillusioned himself and when they arrived at the water, Ced was already waiting. He raised an eyebrow at the company but smiled. She knew he didn't mind.

Rose leaned into to give her boyfriend a not-so-chaste kiss on the lips. Once they reached the edge of the lake, Cedric and Dean began to strip down into their boxers. She couldn't help but blush when Dean slipped his shirt over his head. Ginny was certainly a lucky girl; however, Rosie quickly dispelled those thoughts and turned back to Ced, who was also looking very fine that evening. Discarding their clothes by the bank, the boys waded into the cool water.

Now it was Ginny who flushed as Rose began to pull at her shirt, taking it off to reveal a plain black bra. It wasn't until she wiggled out of her jeans that her friend started to undress as well.

"Relax Gin, it's just Dean and Cedric."

"What if somebody finds us? Or Snape notices you're missing?"

"He's not got a tracking charm on me silly. Plus, it would be hilarious if Severus found us. C'mon, you look great." She reassured.

The girls joined their boyfriends in the deeper water, and they all started to relax, splashing around and laughing.

"So, Hogwarts champions…" Dean began. "Are you ready for the task?"

Cedric grinned broadly. "Definitely. I'm sure it'll be a blast."

"Maybe it's you who should've been sorted into Gryffindor." Rosie trailed a hand across his bare chest. "I'm petrified."

"Don't be ridiculous, you kicked ass on the other tasks Rose." He poked at her stomach underneath the water.

"Mm, I seem to remember it differently."

"Well, I think you're both going to do just fine." Ginny intercepted.

"I'm just glad it's almost summer. I'm so excited to be home at the cottage again." She sighed happily.

"I'm not." Ced gulped. "Now I'll have to get past Sirius every time I want to see you."

"Oh, he's not that bad. He's just full of hot air."

"What do you mean?" Her boyfriend furrowed his brows.

"Er, I think that's a muggle expression Rose." Dean offered.

"Really? That's funny. Well, it means that he just blows up and gets mad easily, but never really does anything about it. You should hear the fights we get into."

"I'm going to be learning a lot about muggles this summer." Ginny boasted. "Dean's invited me to come stay with his family for a whole two weeks. Maybe I'll get to use one of those lawnloars."

Dean's face crumpled in confusion. "A what?"

"A lawnmower. She wants to cut your grass." Rosie chuckled. "I don't think you should use a lawnmower Gin. They're not exactly safe for first time users."

"Dean will show me. Won't you?" She turned to give the boy puppy dog eyes, pressing her chest into his.

Ced ruffled his hair in that oh-so-attractive way that he did and smiled. "What about you Miss Potter. Have you got any summer plans?"

"Other than torturously long potion brewing sessions with Severus and hanging around the house making breakfast for Moony and Sirius, not much no. Why? Do you have a suggestion?"

"I thought perhaps you'd like to take a trip somewhere with me… maybe in July? I'm of age now, and I can apparate you. Do you think Professor Lupin would let you?"

"Moony never says no. Where should we go?" Rosie grinned.

"My grandparents have a house in France… if you want."

"You want to take me to France? Ugh, yes. Did you hear that Gin? Ced's gonna take me to France." She did a little spin in the water.

"I want to go to France!" Her friend cried in indignation.

"Well, you'll have to settle for Surrey I'm afraid." The other boy kissed her cheek, but Rosie froze.

"Did you just say Surrey?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Er, whereabouts?" Rose cringed.

"This dumpy little place called Little Whinging. My family moved there two years ago."

"You're kidding? That's where I grew up."

"No way! Where'd you live?" The boy seemed excited.

"Erm… do you know who Dudley Dursley is?"

"Is that the big oaf who walked around menacing the little kids on the playground? My sister's had a couple run-ins with him."

"The very same. He's my cousin."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry for calling him an oaf."

"Doesn't matter really. He had to practice being a jackass on somebody." She gestured towards herself.

"Do me a favor and bring Ginny by James Polk primary school. She's always asking what muggle school's like."

"Why don't you guys come too? Later on, I mean. Cedric you could see where Rose grew up."

Ced bit his lip. "Would you want that Rose?" He knew more of her history with her relatives than anyone else.

"Er… maybe? But I don't know how I feel about wandering around too much there. I wouldn't want to run into the Dursleys."

"Well I'm excited." Ginny beamed.

The four continued to chat and play around in the water until the topic of careers came up. Ced mentioned starting pre-auror training exams the next year and Ginny latched on.

"I didn't know you wanted to be an auror Cedric."

The boy blushed. "Yeah, that's just kind of what I always saw myself doing. What about you guys?"

"I want to work with muggle artifacts, just like my dad, before I have children of course."

Rosie laughed. "Of course, you want a whole brood I'd imagine." She teased.

"So what if I do?" Ginny stuck out her tongue. "Just because you hate kids doesn't mean everyone has to."

"You hate kids?" Ced asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rose spluttered. "Um… I'm not exactly familiar with them, that's all."

"What do you want to do Rose?" Dean piped up from behind her friend.

She'd not given much thought to it, if she were being honest. "I think I'd maybe like to do something in magical law, but I really don't know."

Cedric was just about to say something when the four of them froze. Somebody had cleared their throat from the shore. Whirling around, Rosie laid eyes on Professor Moody.

"Fuuuuck." Rosie whined, leaning into Ced's torso. Everyone knew how deeply she despised Moody.

The man did not say anything. He just stared out at them, waiting. The four awkwardly made their way towards the shore and Rose began to feel self-conscious, realizing how inappropriately dressed she and Ginny were. Why couldn't it have been Severus, or even Dumbledore?

Moody was a fucking pervert, Rosie already knew this, so she stepped out of the water behind Ced, and tried to block Ginny from view. Dean, catching on to what she was doing, moved in front of his girlfriend as well.

"Professor Moody, we are so sorry for coming out here at night… We were just hoping to have a bit of fun before the task." Cedric began, in his deceptively sweet head boy voice.

The professor leered at them. She could feel his eyes on her knicker-clad bottom as she turned around to cast a drying charm on Ginny and then on herself.

"You boys should know better than to bring two young ladies out here in the middle of the night. These are bloody dangerous times." He growled.

Rose tried to dress herself quickly, sighing in relief as she slipped on her shirt but groaning in frustration at the jeans.

"Professor, do you think you might be able to turn around?" Dean requested bravely. "I think the girls would be more comfortable getting dressed if you weren't…erm watching."

"Well, I don't know about Miss Weasley, but I'm sure Miss Potter here is just fine, in fact, I think she even enjoys putting on a show…for a professor anyways."

Rosie's gasped and her chest tightened. She didn't know what to say, but luckily, she didn't have to say a thing because both Dean and Ced lurched forward at the same time, anger flashing in their eyes.

"That was uncalled for Professor. There's no excuse to talk that way. Why I have half a mind to report what you've just said to the Headmaster." Ced almost yelled, at the same time that Dean growled. "Take that back!"

"Are you gonna tell on me?" He raised an eyebrow at Cedric, moving forward threateningly.

"C'mon guys, let's just get back to the castle." Her boyfriend hissed, picking up her jeans and helping her into them.

The quartet followed Moody through the grounds silently. Rosie was still lost in thought. The professor's careless words and actions had triggered flashbacks of her encounters with Lockhart and she was squirming uncomfortably. Rosie wanted Severus, but she wasn't about to go seeking him out. Cedric rubbed her arms in comfort, shooting her a series of concerned glances.

Moody stopped them at the entrance to the corridor and took a drink from his hip flask. "Get back to your common rooms." He spat. "Take thirty points from Gryffindor and ten from Hufflepuff."

As they made to leave, Moody caught her arm and Rosie just about jumped out of her skin. Ced tried to pull her back.

"Potter. Watch your back." The horrible auror nodded at her.

The four of them scurried off towards the Gryffindor common room, and Cedric pulled her aside to talk as Dean and Ginny entered.

"Hey, are you ok? That was a really awful thing for Moody to say." He pulled her in for a hug.

Rosie shook her head. "I'm fine, I just, don't like him, and I really hate when people bring that up to hurt me, because it works."

"Hey, everyone knows that what Professor Lockhart did to you was not consensual. He was just being a jerk."

Closing her eyes, she leaned into the boy's chest and allowed him to stroke her back, the memories fading.

"I love you Rose." Ced sighed.

Her heart fluttered, and she felt the pressure to say it back building.

"I love you too." She whispered, hoping that she meant it.

He kissed her lightly on the lips and smiled, holding open the portrait hole for her to enter. Rosie said goodbye and went to bed, hugging the lily bear tightly to her chest all night.

On the eve of the third task, Rose's gut was churning with nerves. The stands were full and Severus, who had nearly crushed her to death with the force of his hug just minutes earlier was taking a seat next to the Headmaster. Rosie felt her dogfather's absence profoundly as she stared up at the full moon, which had just risen. Only Sirius stood beside her, his disposition calm.

"You're gonna be fine Prongslet. I'm gonna coddle you for a second because Moony's not here, but after that, you've gotta be brave, yeah?" He gave her a soft hug.

She nodded against his chest. Rose watched as Severus' face formed into a sneer, presumably at the length of their hug. She pulled away and looked up at him.

"You better fight Rosie." He said stoically. "You remember what I taught you, what Moony taught you, and you fight. I need you to keep your wits about you in there love. There's not time for panicking."

"I know. I'll do my best Siri."

"Promise me kid."

"I promise."

"Good girl." He clapped her on the back lightly and grinned.

Dumbledore's countdown began and the dread mounted. She saw Ced give his father a hug, and take off into the maze, knowing full well that it was her turn next. A chill ran down her spine as the mouth of the hedges seemed to whisper to her, inviting her to step forward into the unknown.

"Siri, I don't want to…" She tried to back away as the Headmaster counted down for her.

"No, you're not doing this now." He growled as she heard the number one ring through the stands.

"Go, Rosie." She felt his hands on her back.

Hesitating for a moment, Rose felt herself trip forward into the darkened pathway. She wasn't sure if she had gone in herself or if Sirius had pushed her, but all she knew was darkness as the hedges closed from behind, trapping her, so that the only way to go was forward.


	80. Chapter 80

**AN- I am so sorry but this story is still canon compliant for now.**

The air was frigid and the silence paralyzing. Rosie regretted wearing only her exercise shorts and a Hogwarts t-shirt. The evening had been clear and muggy outside of the maze, but inside it was as though the entire expanse of field had been passed over by a dementor. Her heart hammered in her chest and it was with great trepidation that she stepped forward, looking wildly in all directions.

Glancing up at the moon, Rose felt a sense of comfort, almost like Moony was with her, following her. Her guardian's presence in her heart gave her the strength to continue. She took the paths randomly, without a strategy, occasionally using the 'point me' spell to make sure she was still heading north.

The first obstacle that she came across was absolutely hideous. It looked like something straight out of one of Hagrid's fantasies. The monster appeared to be a giant hermit crab, which wasn't too scary, aside from the fire that it was breathing, and the intermittent explosions released from what seemed to be its back end. Rosie remembered Moony saying that creatures with shells had to be hit underneath, so she waited in hiding until the animal turn towards her again, and then, with great hesitation, she cast a stunner in its direction.

The jet of red light missed and hit the shell, which only angered the creature further, and now it knew where Rose was hidden. She mentally chastised herself as the humongous crab appeared to rear up like a spooked horse. Thinking quickly, for once in her life, she shot two consecutive stunners and a body bind in the moment that it took the thing to rise. Her efforts paid off, and the animal lay frozen in the middle of the pathway. Siri would be proud.

"I'm sorry." She apologized softly to it as she passed, stroking the shell.

That hadn't been so horrible Rosie reasoned. Maybe she could do this.

After walking for another few minutes without encountering anything else, the nerves began to build once again, surely, she would come across another horror soon. What Rose found next, she didn't think quite counted as a horror, but it also wasn't pleasant. It was herself. She came face to face with that awful dead-eyed version of herself and knew instantly that she was facing a boggart.

As hard as her guardian had tried, there was still nothing that Rosie could do or think of to defeat her boggart. She counted herself lucky to, like him, have one that wasn't outwardly dangerous, like a snake, or a spider. Because the copy of herself just stood there, staring, it was easy to bypass, although more than a little bit creepy.

Taking another few gentle steps once the boggart was left behind, Rose nearly screamed as her whole body was flipped upside down, the blood rushing to her face. Her t-shirt flicked up, and her hair fell towards the floor, or the sky, or whichever way was which. Not panicking, she cast a quick 'finite', and the world was corrected.

"Well that was rude." She sighed aloud.

Still heading north, Rosie startled when she heard a shriek from somewhere off in the distance. It was definitely Fleur.

Unable to see where it had come from, she continued, praying for her friend's continued safety. Shivering now from the chill of the fog, Rosie tried to control her breathing. She looked up at the moon and for a split second tried to imagine Moony's scent, warm and inviting, like soft cinnamon and sunlight. He was out there, probably thinking of her in his wolfy-brain.

Her moment of inner peace was interrupted by something unimaginable. Rose heard the spell, but it took a moment for her to register that it was being cast.

"Crucio!"

Cedric's scream was earsplitting. She'd never imagined that Ced could make such a noise, but she knew it was him. How could it not be?... and it was impossibly near, perhaps just the next path over.

The screaming continued with the curse and Rosie couldn't take it. It was physically painful to listen to. Who the bloody hell was casting the Cruciatus curse on her boyfriend?

In a panic, Rose set the bush to her right on fire. Maybe if she could just get through, she could see. The hole that was created was just big enough for her to fit through, and she was shocked by what she saw. Rosie came through with enough time to see Viktor lift and then recast the torture curse on Ced, his wails of pain never ceasing.

"Viktor!" She shrieked, lunging forward and trying to knock the older boy over. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Rose obviously was no match for the seeker, but the force was just enough to break the spell. Krum turned to face her, and she recognized immediately the signs of the Imperius curse in his eyes. Thinking quickly, she cast 'finite', and watched as the light returned in his face, and then shock. She didn't wait around for him to speak, binding the other champion and moving to help Cedric.

His body was still spasming, but his eyes were open.

"Rose? God, Krum, he's fucking possessed!" The boy was panicking.

"Ok, ok, relax Ced. You're ok. He was bewitched. Imperius. I put him in a body bind. Let's get out of here." She explained as fast as she could.

Rosie shot up red sparks into the air to indicate that Viktor should be collected and then reached out her hand for her boyfriend. When they were at a safe distance, off in another direction, the Hufflepuff boy pulled her into a harsh kiss.

"Thanks babe." He winked.

"Don't sweat it." She moved closer, her hand travelling down his leg teasingly.

"Get outta here. You little minx, trying to distract me."

Pushing her playfully away, he indicated that she go in the other direction and then he jogged away.

Rosie wished he'd stay. He was too invested in this little game.

Her path was blocked by a Sphinx, which was absolutely horrifying, because that had not been one of the creatures that Moony had taught her about. She only hoped that Ced had been met with something equally terrible as karma for sending her down this path.

It had the body of an overlarge lion; great clawed paws, and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon Rosie as she approached. She raised her wand, hesitating. The creature was not crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking any progress.

Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice. "You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"So ... so will you move, please?" She asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.

"No," The sphinx said, continuing to pace. "Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess, I let you pass. Answer wrongly, I attack. Remain silent, I will let you walk away from me, unscathed."

"Um… ok, lets hear the riddle." She said, trying to channel Severus. He would want her to hear the riddle

The creature opened her mouth and spoke evenly.

"What gets broken without being held?"

Rosie almost laughed but stopped herself. She doubted that 'Rose Potter' was the correct answer, and she didn't want to be killed for making a joke. Severus would've slapped her 'round the head for even thinking that.

She wracked her brain, trying to decide. You could break people, hearts, composure, stereotypes, and…promises. Rosie would bet anything that that was the answer. Her stomach clenched as she spoke, afraid for a moment that she'd be wrong.

"A promise?"

Instead of pouncing forward to kill her, the sphinx bowed its head and moved to the side, thank Merlin.

Rose could see the Triwizard cup at the end of the next straight pathway that she came across and she almost cried with relief. This ridiculous tournament was almost over. She waited patiently for Ced. Rosie didn't actually care if she won, but he did, so she backed up and stayed just outside of view.

When the boy did arrive, coming through from the other path, she feigned the same, stepping out where he could see her. Cedric looked once at her, and then back at the cup.

"Go ahead Rose. You got Viktor off me back there." He offered, motioning down the pathway.

"Don't be ridiculous Ced. I want you to have it." She gave him a chaste kiss, pressing her hand affectionately to his chest.

The pair was frightened out of their sweet moment by a rustling behind them. The bushes were moving quickly towards them, as if urging someone, anyone, to take the damn cup. They both started to move at a brisk jog, laughing and pushing each other good-humoredly.

Approaching the field where the cup lay in waiting, Rosie glared pointedly at her sweet, handsome, and fair boyfriend who glared back. This was going to be a fight.

"You take it." He bit his lip, ruffling his hair. "You deserve it. You got screwed over in this whole mess."

"Shut up Ced. I'm just happy to make it out alive. I don't give a shit if I win. Plus, I don't have a dad eagerly waiting out there for me to bring home the glory. Think of how proud he'll be."

His face faltered.

"Let's take it together." Ced suggested, holding out a hand.

Rosie had to concede at that, because otherwise, they'd be there all night.

"To a Hogwarts victory then." Rose jumped into his arms, giving him a happy hug.

"Yeah, exactly. For Hogwarts." He smiled as they both reached forward and made contact with the cup.

There was a sensation, like a hook beneath her navel and suddenly they were spinning away. It was a portkey, how clever.

Rosie landed on top of Cedric, who was rubbing his head, wincing. She looked up and confusion set in when she realized that they were not in fact back in the stands at Hogwarts. They were in a graveyard. Was this part of the task?

Rose stood up and began to wander for a minute, as did her boyfriend. He was laughing, as though he totally expected that something like this would happen. It wasn't until she turned around, that her heart nearly leapt out of her chest, and icy horror began to flood through her veins.

The gravestone that had backed her read,

 _Thomas Riddle 1880-1913._

Like Rose would ever forget that name.

"No. No no no no no." She chanted. This was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Cedric was looking at something a few feet away.

"Ced! We have to get back to the cup! Now!" The terror in her voice was barely concealed.

"What? What do you mean? Relax Rose, this is all part of the task."

"No! It's not! This is dangerous, get back to the cup now!" She shouted, just as her scar seemed to burst into flames.

Rosie screamed and clamped her hand down on her forehead. Her boyfriend came rushing over and knelt beside her, but she pushed him away.

"Ced, please get back to the cup! Please!"

"Without you? Not likely!" He insisted.

It was then that someone else arrived… a man ambled out of the shadows, carrying something in his arms. Cedric stood up and moved in front of Rosie, pointing his wand.

"What do you want?" He warned.

A voice hissed from the bundle in the man's arms.

"Kill the spare!"

Before she had time to process what exactly that meant, or who the spare was, the able man lifted his own wand and aimed it at her boyfriend.

"Avada Kedavra!" He cast, a jet of familiar green light shooting out from the tip. It hit Cedric square in the chest, and he was sent flying backwards.

Rosie's heart stopped beating. That had been the killing curse. The man had cast the killing curse at Ced, and it hit him. No.

She had to bite her fist to keep from screaming as she rushed over to where the boy lay. It couldn't be. Rose shook him. When the boy didn't move, she shook him again, harder this time.

"Ced. Ced? Oh, please wake up. Wake up!" Panic set into her body and she began to sob.

He wasn't waking up and his eyes were glassy. He was just staring towards the sky, towards the moon.

"No, please no!" Rosie cried, as the realization sunk in that the mysterious man had just killed Cedric.

He wasn't sleeping or knocked out. He died. He died and now she was clinging to his dead body, which was already going cold in her hands.

She was still fisting his shirt, the ache of grief just beginning to settle in her chest when two large hands grabbed onto her from behind.

"Get up you pathetic sniveling little bitch." The man growled in a voice that Rose would recognize anywhere.

It was the Professor Moody.

"P…professor?"

He grunted, and manhandled her, grabbing the fabric of her t-shirt, and half-pushing, half-dragging her toward Riddle's headstone.

"Get away from me! Get off me!" She struggled, trying to wriggle her way out of his arms.

His hand came down across her face with a resounding crack. He'd slapped her so hard that she felt her brain rattle around in her head. Rosie was too stunned to scream, or to cry. The pain radiated down her face, through her cheek and jaw. Her mouth was caught open in surprise.

Moody grabbed her so tightly by the arms that she thought her might break them and shoved her back into the headstone. He withdrew his wand, and bound her arms above her head, and her feet together with ropes, so that she was hanging, pinned against the statue.

It felt as though her heart was going to hammer its way out of her chest as she watched, now going into shock, as Moody prepared, for what, she did not know. Trapped and terrified, Rose's mind wandered back to Cedric. Oh Ced. Why couldn't he have listened to her? She'd said… no…she'd screamed at him to get back to the cup, but he hadn't listened. He was dead, oh god, he was dead. Her head hung and she squeezed her eyes shut, tears trailing down her cheeks as her body wracked with silent sobs.

It seemed that Moody was bothered by her grief because he sneered, lunging forward towards her and pushed his wand into her throat.

"Keep crying and I'll give you something to bloody cry about."

Rosie's eyes widened. She hadn't heard that phrase since Uncle Vernon. Oh, how she longed for the days when Uncle Vernon had been her biggest problem. She shut her mouth, not wanting to tempt the professor too much.

He was filling a cauldron, bigger than any cauldron she'd ever seen and fussing around the little bundle that he'd carried into the clearing. Finally, after her arms began to ache and her teeth started to chatter, he spoke once again.

Moody picked up the hissing pile on cloth and dumped it into the cauldron. Oh, dear god, it was something sentient. The potion seemed to squeal, and then the professor turned to her once again, aiming his wand.

"Bone, of the father, unwillingly given…"

What appeared to be a human bone was levitated out of the grave beneath her. Rosie could just barely move her head to watch. He dumped it into the cauldron unceremoniously.

"Flesh of the servant… willingly sacrificed."

The horrible auror held out his right arm and in the left he raised a dagger. Surely, he wasn't going to…but he did. With a hideous and sickening plop, the severed hand fell into the potion. Moody doubled over in pain, now missing a hand, and that's when Rose noticed that he was beginning to change.

He was losing weight in front of her eyes, growing hair, and his awful eye was becoming too large for his head. When his body finally stilled, she realized that he had never been Alastor Moody. This was not the famous auror that Siri had known. This was the man from her dream. The servant of Voldemort.

The new man grinned evilly now and approached Rosie, the same dagger still clutched in his left hand. She prayed he wasn't planning on touching her with the filthy weapon, but Rose was unlucky.

Somehow, even in pain, he still found time to be a perverted bastard, because he ran the blood covered dagger up her bare leg, leaving a trail of red, and stopping at her inner thigh, where her bicycle shorts began.

"Blood of the enemy, forcefully taken." The man muttered and then sliced right down the inside of her leg.

Rosie gasped in pain, but she couldn't move an inch. The bindings on her wrists and legs were too tight.

Ex-Moody dripped her blood off the dagger, and into the mix with the rest of the ingredients and then something worse happened, if that were even possible at this point.

She struggled against the headstone as, who she could only assume was Voldemort, began to rise from the large cauldron. The combination of elation and terror on the death eater`s face was palpable. Warm blood rushed down her leg where he had sliced her open, a sharp contrast to her now clammy exterior. Rose watched in horror as the snakelike man attempted to get his bearings. He tested the wand in his hand and clothed himself in dark and loose-fitting robes, but not before she caught a glimpse of much more of him than she ever wanted to see.

His skin was not quite human colored anymore. It was grey and pale like a corpse. The Dark Lord paid no attention to Rosie whatsoever. Instead, when he was ready, Voldemort took the other man`s remaining arm in his hand, the left, and pressed his wand to the tattoo that marred it. The dark mark. It took a few moments, but they began to arrive one by one, robes and masks already on, hiding their identities.

Rose closed her eyes and prayed that Severus would come. If Severus came, then she would be safe. He would protect her no matter what. It was hard to tell who they all were because of the masks until Voldemort started listing of their names.

She heard Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Rosier, Mulciber… until Rosie began to tune him out. Her body was numb with cold and her focus cloudy. It wasn`t until the last name was called that her head snapped back up to attention: Snape.

Rose's eyes made contact with her first guardian, though he seemed to be looking right through her, his expression resting where she knew Cedric lay. Severus' stance was hard, and his posture rigid. The mask covered his face, but she could tell that he was calculating every move that he made with the utmost care.

The death eaters formed a circle around Voldemort himself who began to speak… to lecture. He replaced the ex-Moody's hand. Rosie stayed deathly quiet. A part of her thought or rather, hoped that maybe he would just forget about her. Her hopes were short lived however, when the conversation came 'round to his untimely downfall.

"And that my friends, brings us back to the reason we are here tonight." Voldemort sighed wistfully, turning to face her.

"Rose Potter. The girl who lived."

She squirmed restlessly, the binds on her wrists aching. Severus' full attention was on her now.

"I confess darling Rose, that I'd almost forgotten you were here…standing on the bones of my father. Word is it your almost as famous as I am these days. Oh, how lies have fed your legend."

He turned back to the death eaters now. Shall I satiate the curiosity burning behind your masks? Shall I reveal what really happened that night, thirteen years ago?"

Rose didn't know what she was supposed to do, so she just tried to stay as still as possible.

"It was love." The snake-like man hissed. "You see, when dear sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only daughter, she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch her, but things have changed."

If she could have lurched backwards, she would've as the man charged towards her, his finger aiming for her scar.

"I can touch you now." Voldemort cackled, and spots appeared in Rosie's vision, pain ripping through her skull, down into her body, cracking her open.

The scream that left her lips felt detached from her somehow, like she didn't quite know that she could make that sound. Rosie hoped that this would be it… that if he was going to kill her, that he would do it quickly. Her hopes were, however, short lived. Voldemort did not stop there. Instead, he approached her again, caressing his hand down her body, from her chin all the way down to her waist.

"Such a soft girl, so…tiny." He sighed.

She arched away from his hand… but couldn't get very far.

The Dark Lord cackled, his laugh maniacal, and to her horror, he began to sing.

" _Ring around the Rosey, a pocket full of Posey. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down."_

He stroked her arm as he sang. It had to be the most disturbing thing Rose had ever seen or heard.

"Rosey Posey. Such a pretty girl. Isn't she pretty?!" Voldemort called insanely to his followers, pushing her shirt up slightly to reveal her stomach.

Rosie squeezed her eyes shut, wishing for the first time in her life that she had been born Harry James Potter. Perhaps, if she'd been a boy, they wouldn't feel the need to degrade her like this before they killed her.

The death eaters gave mixed reactions, shouting and speaking amongst themselves. Rose wished that Severus would just swoop forward and steal her away, back to Hogwarts, but she knew he couldn't. He was a spy.

"I've heard something interesting about you though Rosey Posey." Voldemort crooned. "You see, I've heard that you have an affinity for professors. Tell me, is this true Severus?"

Her guardian's name on the snake-like man's tongue felt wrong. Severus' eyes moved from her to him and he spoke in his usual drawling confidence.

"Indeed. She does rather." He smirked.

Oh, Rosie didn't like this Severus. She knew it was pretend, but it still was hard to watch.

"Is that so? And have you, shall we say, indulged in this affinity Severus? I do remember how sickeningly pathetic you were, begging me to save the girl's mudblood mother. Surely, she has satisfied that curiosity for you."

She flinched. Voldemort was obviously having fun. He'd found a way to torture both her and her guardian at the same time. The other death eaters were jeering.

"I have not. I don't know if you recall, but I did find the girl's father to be intolerably distasteful."

"Yes yes of course, but look at these eyes…" He caressed her cheek softly. Rosie shivered.

"Green as the curse that killed your mudblood. Now that darling _Cedric_ is out of the way, why don't you show her a little affection?"

Rose cried out in indignation when he spoke Cedric's name.

Severus' face did not change. It remained cold, frozen in a permanent state of indifference.

He moved forward towards her, and the Dark Lord let out what could only be described as a deranged giggle.

"Yes, Severus, show Rosey Posey just how lovely you think she is."

It didn't matter what Voldemort said. Severus coming closer only made her relax more.

Someone from the crowd yelled out, "Give it to 'er Snape!"

Rosie, whose arms were now almost numb with pain, exhaled as she stared pleadingly into Severus' eyes. He removed the mask, and with his other hand, cupped the small of her back and leaned forward.

She had to stop herself from letting out a hysterical little laugh when his lips met hers. It was just for a moment, but it felt wrong. Not frightening, no this was still Severus, but weird all the same. Rose just thanked Merlin it wasn't any of the others. He rubbed her back with his thumb, and she knew he was trying to sooth her. It worked, and her body relaxed ever so slightly.

When he pulled back, he addressed Voldemort directly. "My lord. I believe you will find that as enthralling as it would be to continue, my position at Hogwarts would be compromised were I to engage like this with one of my students, most especially Potter."

"Hah! Yes, you are correct, aren't you? Perhaps we'll have little Rosie initiate it then, how does that sound?" There was a glint in his eyes.

What did that mean?

Rose was shocked to attention when the binds on her wrists and legs were undone and she fell to the ground on her knees in front of Severus, the wet grass mixing with the blood and dirt now coating her body.

The Dark Lord raised his wand to her and cast,

"Imperio!"

She felt her eyes glaze over and her mind separate into two parts, just like in her lessons. Rosie could hear him tell her to, 'Show Severus what she liked to do with her professors,' and she caught a flash of what he meant in her mind before quickly squashing it.

There was no way in hell that she was going to do _that_ to Severus. Aside from how awful it would be for her, the potions master would probably kill himself afterwards. Nuh uh, not happening.

Rose shook her head. "Go fuck yourself." She slurred, groping around for her wand.

Severus had taken a step back, his eyes slightly wider, confusion evident in his expression. He didn't know that she could shake of the Imperius.

"What did you say?" Voldemort gasped.

"I said, go fuck yourself."

"Imperio!" He shouted again, and she had an even easier time throwing it as he told her to stand up.

Still on her knees on the ground, Rosie shook her head.

"What a surprising creature you are sweet Rosey Posey. Able to resist the Imperius curse… that is not what I was expecting. Let's see how you fare with this one…"

"Crucio!"

The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that she no longer knew where she was... white-hot knives were piercing every inch of her skin, her head was surely going to explode from the pain; She was screaming more loudly than she'd ever screamed in her life. It was guttural, animalistic, and it lasted forever. Voldemort lifted the curse, and then recast it several times. Rosie couldn't really keep track of how many.

When she came to again, Voldemort was shrieking with laughter. "That, that was almost as satisfying…" He announced.

Rose sat herself up, dizzy and aching. Her wand was next to her and she clasped her fingers around it tightly, like she had a chance in hell of even casting something that the Dark Lord wouldn't deflect. Severus had moved back to stand with the other death eaters, and Rosie was sure that it was indecision, or perhaps fear that she saw in his eyes. He was trying to calculate how much danger she was in, trying to decide whether to let things play out or to intervene and fuck everything up for Dumbledore.

In her mind, Rose heard a smooth voice on repeat. It was Siri, telling her to fight, to protect herself, to promise him that she would do her best. She had to get back to the cup. Severus would be ok. He knew what he was doing, but Rosie had to find a way back to the portkey.

Voldemort knelt down in front of her and offered out his hand. "Come Rosie. Let's duel." He smiled. It was the kind of smile that she'd only ever seen Lockhart wear.

She took his hand, rising up until her chest was almost touching his. Rose had to distract him. What had Siri told her to do? The fastest way to get any man off you in an instant, was the phrase he'd used.

Without thinking, Rosie brought her knee up as hard as she could and drove it with as much force as she could muster into Voldemort's most…delicate area, which she knew that he had, because she'd gotten a good look earlier.

The snake-like man's eyes widened in surprise and he doubled over in pain. It was enough. Rose had already taken off towards the cup. She was nearly there when from behind she heard the same words that she would struggle to get out of her head for weeks to come,

"Avada Kedavra!"

Rosie whirled around and cast an Expelliarmus, and their wand streams connected, red meeting green like some sort of perverse Christmas reference.

The force of the colliding spells was almost enough to knock her off her feet, but miraculously, she remained upright.

Something was happening to Lord Voldemort's wand. Something was coming out of it aside from the green light. There were people. Cedric… Her boyfriend materialized next to her his frowning. Next came an old man she didn't recognize, and then two other figures… figures that she'd only ever seen in photographs.

Rosie`s parents emerged from the wand, shadows of them anyways.

"Take my body back to my father. Please Rose." Ced whispered from beside her.

"You're doing so well sweetheart." James sighed.

Lily turned to her and smiled. "We can only linger for another moment. When the connection breaks, get to the cup."

Rose nodded that she understood, and then everything happened very fast. The spells absorbed each other, and there seemed to be a temporary wall obstructing the death eaters or Voldemort from approaching. She used the opportunity to grasp onto Cedric's now cold hand and use the other to hold the portkey.

The hook below her naval told her that she'd been successful, and Rosie was transported back to Hogwarts. When she landed, it was once again on top of Cedric, but this time, he didn't open his eyes. He didn't laugh or smile. She wanted to shield him, to prevent everyone from seeing him like this. He wouldn't have wanted it.

The bands started up in the stands and Rosie let out a long wail, clutching the fabric of her boyfriend's jersey, covering him. The noise seemed to peter out, and there was a scream from within the crowd. Rose could barely hear it over her own sobs. Dumbledore was at her side in an instant. He tried to move Ced, but she screamed.

"No! Don't touch him!"

Two strong arms wrapped around her from behind and Rosie threw her head back, trying to prevent whoever it was from separating her from the boy.

"Rosie. Oh precious, it's ok you're here now. You're safe. C'mere." Siri whispered, still trying to pull her back.

"No! Get off me! Cedric!" She cried again, her whole body vibrating with pain.

"Honey, oh honey, He`s gone. He's gone. That's not Cedric anymore. C'mon love." He insisted.

At his words, Rose fell to her knees, allowing him to move in front of her, keeping the body out of view.

"Shh. Oh shh. It's ok, you're ok." He stroked her hair.

Rosie buried her face into his body, her grip strong, and her sobs stronger. Siri didn't let go. He just held her there, on the ground, allowing her to scream, and cry into his t-shirt.

"I've got you Rosie. I've got you."

 **AN- I would appreciate reviews for this chapter, if you can spare a minute to let me know what you thought**


	81. Chapter 81

**AN- Sorry, had some trouble uploading and getting the notification out for the last chapter. Third task is up, chapter 80.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	82. Chapter 82

Sirius coaxed her into a standing position, keeping her head tucked under his arm. She was pressed into his chest so that Cedric was out of sight. Dumbledore suggested they go to Severus' quarters, and Siri nodded, rubbing her arm.

At the mention of Severus, another wave of panic descended into her chest. Why wasn't he back yet?

"Where's Severus?!" She wailed again.

"I'm sure Snape is fine hon."

"N…no! He didn't listen. He didn't do what Voldemort said, he didn't…He was laughing but he was mad."

"Shh. You're alright Prongslet. Don't try and talk, just relax."

"I saw my dad." She whispered, staring bleakly forward as they moved through the castle.

"Did you? That's good love. You just relax now."

"Did what you said." Rosie mumbled again. "I tried, tried so hard."

"I know you did. I'm so proud of you, so proud."

Rose drifted in and out of consciousness on Severus' couch. Each time she woke, Siri was there, still stroking her hair. The pain had almost dulled, but her body kept jerking and spasming at random. When Severus got back, she wanted to go to him. She could see him taking off the mask, and eying Siri.

"S…Severus." She cried tiredly, struggling against the other man's grip.

"Don't get up Rose. Black, make sure she's awake."

"Let her sleep Sniv. She's exhausted."

Rosie tried to push herself up. "Don't call Sev…" She began but didn't get a chance to finish before her guardian appeared in front of them.

"She cannot sleep because she is bleeding profusely, and she's just endured any number of dark curses, including several rounds of the Cruciatus. Keep her awake." He spat.

"Oh god." Siri spluttered.

"Control yourself Black. Do something useful and get her undressed. She needs to be examined and treated."

Sirius bit his lip, seemingly debating whether to listen to Severus or not. He eventually resigned and while the potions master had disappeared into his store room, Siri worked on sitting her up.

"Alright. Okay. Arms up Rosie." He commanded, his tone gentle.

She was too overwhelmed not to comply, lifting her arms for him to pull her t-shirt over her head. Rosie didn't even have enough energy to blush as he hooked his fingers into the sides of her exercise shorts and slid them down her legs. He gasped lightly, taking in the damage done to her inner thigh and his fingers probed the long cut.

Rose whimpered in pain.

"Sorry precious. I won't touch." Sirius soothed, moving his hand onto her back to ease her into a horizontal position on the couch.

Severus returned quickly carrying several vials of potion and containers of salve. He knelt beside Sirius and it was the closest she'd ever seen them. The potions master pried her leg up gently, looking at the cut.

"Did Crouch cut you anywhere else?" Severus asked smoothly.

Rosie's face contorted in confusion.

"Who?"

"Moody." He clarified.

She shook her head. No. The rest is his blood from when he… Rose squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to picture it.

"Alright. Don't explain. I understand. Did he do anything else to you? Touch you?" His eyes flashed.

"N…no. He slapped my face, that was it."

"You are sure? Do you have any pain?" Severus asked seriously.

Rose cringed. "No. I know he didn't touch me. He killed… he killed…" but she couldn't finish the sentence.

"I know child. I know. Occlude for a few moments longer."

"Black. Clean the cut and put this on it." Severus thrust a container of some sort of salve towards him.

Siri did as he was told for the first time ever and propped up her knee once again. His touch was soft and cautious as he tried not to hurt her. "I'm sorry hon." He cringed as she hissed in pain.

As a distraction, her guardian pressed a cool vial to her lips. "It's for the tremors. You were under the curse for longer than is safe. This will prevent lasting nerve damage."

"You bloody bastard." Sirius growled. "You just stood there while he…"

"Noo." Rosie whined. "Don't fight. Please."

"Nobody is fighting child." Severus cut in smoothly. "You are safe now. Very soon you will sleep."

"S…Severus." Her head began to loll to the side in exhaustion.

"Rose. Focus a few moments longer." Severus tapped on her cheeks, keeping her from falling deeper asleep, pushing it back.

He held another vial to her lips. "This is for any other lingering pain, and the next is a blood replenisher."

Siri was still working on her leg. The wound was so long and deep that it took a while.

Rosie was beginning to cry again. Her mind kept straying back to the events of the evening, to Ced's last words.

"I told him to leave when I realized…but he didn't listen. He stayed… to protect me." She choked.

Severus took her chin in his hand and directed her to look at him.

"It was not your fault."

"Cedric." She whimpered softly, her eyes beginning to close.

"Help me sit her up." Severus directed to Sirius.

They forced her into a sitting position.

"Want to sleep."

"Can't we let her rest now? She's not bleeding anymore." Siri tried.

The potions master sighed. "Fine, but you'll need to watch her. Take her into the bedroom. She can sleep there."

The next thing Rosie knew, her head had fallen against Sirius' shoulder, and he was lifting her off the couch.

Rose mumbled something incoherently into his t-shirt and nodded off. Sirius sighed in relief. He was almost frightened to keep her awake, scared that if she stayed conscious, she'd begin to grieve and then she'd never sleep again.

He had wanted to get the full story from Snape, but when he tucked Rosie into the bed, she still had not let go of his shirt. Sirius resigned himself to stay with her. If that's what she needed, then that's what she would get. There was very little that Rose Potter could not convince him to do, even in her sleep. He slipped his own shirt over his head and pried it lightly from her hands. It was a struggle to get her to lift up enough to put the shirt on her, but Sirius didn't want her to wake up feeling embarrassed on top of everything else.

When she was covered, he slid himself around her like he'd seem Remus do, and pulled her back to his chest, laying his head against the pillow. As Rosie slept, he watched for the rising and falling of her breath, wondering how close he'd come to never seeing it again.

Severus rubbed his temples and leaned against the counter. The third task could not have gone worse. He summoned a bottle of firewhiskey and did not hesitate before cracking it open. This particular evening seemed to be fighting for the top spot of 'worst night of his life' alongside the night that Lily was murdered. He had been so very close to revealing himself as a spy. If it had not been for the girl's surprising and remarkable resistance to the Imperius curse, he would have. There was no way that he would've ever let Rose near enough to touch him. Severus would die before that happened.

He'd already said and did enough during that meeting to ensure that she would be horrified by him…when she came to her senses of course. That part did not matter, as long as she was safe.

It didn't take long before Albus came to call. The man was infuriatingly efficient. He raised an eyebrow at the already half empty bottle of whiskey and sighed wistfully.

"I am afraid that the years to come will be some of the most challenging."

Severus just grunted.

"Tell me, my boy, how is dear Rose?"

"Asleep. Black is minding her." He nodded towards the door. "She was unusually resilient this evening in ways that I was not expecting."

"I think you underestimate her Severus."

"I concur. The girl withstood everything and still managed to escape without my help."

"So, your position was not compromised then?" His eyes twinkled.

"Very nearly, but no."

"Was she hurt terribly?"

Severus took another swig of his drink and closed his eyes, attempting to occlude. "Yes. She was fatigued from blood loss and spasming from the after effects of the Cruciatus. Emotionally, Diggory will be…the most difficult."

Albus frowned and then nodded solemnly. "A great tragedy. My heart is heavy for dear Amos tonight."

"Yes. It is…fortunate that the Dark Lord was not made aware of Rose's attachment to the boy until after his death."

"And her attachment to you Severus? Was he suspicious?"

"There was a moment…where, had he used legilimency, he would have caught on, but I, fortunately, was able to intervene, blocking her face from his view."

"How did she take it? Bearing witness to your particular…role."

"I cannot say. It is of no consequence so long as she is well."

"You are truly the most self-deprecating person I have ever encountered my boy. Once again you underrate her capacity for love in difficult times."

Severus just waved his hand dismissively.

"I would like you to continue teaching her occlumency. Between her peculiar dreams, and the events of tonight, I'd like her to have strong mental defenses."

"Very well." He withdrew his wand and summoned a vial. I believe you will find these useful, as I am without energy to continue reliving the evening." Severus raised the wand to his temple to extract the memories.

"Thank you." The headmaster nodded. "Of course, I would like to speak with dear Rose, when the time comes; however, I'll wait until you feel she is ready."

"I'd like her excused from the last week of classes." Severus eyed him.

"I will not argue with you there my dear boy. Send her home, perhaps she'll find some peace at the cottage."

"That reminds me…" Albus continued. "Might you consider fetching Remus, at first light of course. I'm sure his presence will be most essential in her recovery."

The potions master gripped the counter tightly but nodded. For Rose, he would do that.

When the headmaster was gone, Severus closed his eyes. There was no hope in hell that he would sleep at this point. The firewhiskey had numbed the majority of the pain from the Dark Lord's retribution, but his mind was clear.

Stopping at the mouth of his bedroom, he sneered in disgust at the sight of the child curled into Black's chest. The dog had given her his shirt. In any other circumstance, Severus would've judged the situation as completely inappropriate. However, if Black's physical presence is what Rose desired in that moment, well, he sure as hell wasn't in the mood to deny her anything.

To his great surprise, the girl was still sleeping at Black's side when the first signs of sunlight rose through the dark. This was Severus' cue to retrieve the wolf.

Lupin was nude, and still asleep when he arrived, his clothes laid out on the couch neatly folded for the morning.

Severus did not wish to touch him, so he took out his wand and cast a water charm, which roused the man.

"Wha? Severus?" He sat up blearily, turning red in a display of modesty, and reaching for his boxers. "Is Rosie ok?"

The potions master sighed and rubbed his temples, pausing for a moment. "No. She is not. Rose was seriously injured, and Diggory…is dead."

The wolf was pulling on his undergarments when Severus spoke, and he gasped. "What?"

The potions master gave him a moment to take in what he'd said.

"Oh god. Severus, what happened? Where is she? Is she going to be alright? I need to see her."

"Sit down Lupin." He motioned to the couch.

"Oh, please don't tell me she's not ok." The man's eyes were wide.

"Rose is with Black. She is asleep and will make a full recovery. The Dark Lord has returned, and the girl and Diggory were transported to an alternate location at the moment of contact with the Triwizard cup. Diggory was murdered almost instantly, and Rose played guest at the death eater reunion meeting."

"No. Oh Rosie." He moaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Were you there? Did you go? What did they do to her?"

"I was. She was…grievously injured, but she was able to escape, without my intervention."

"She did?" Who orchestrated this? What happened?"

"Indeed. It was Barty Crouch Junior. He has been disguised as Alastor Moody all year. He was in charge of patrolling the north perimeter of the maze and hid the cup in the center, subsequently creating a portkey."

"Crouch junior? No. Oh Merlin, Rosie suspected that he was alive. I totally discounted her… and Alastor… she hated him so much. I should've listened to her." He berated himself.

Severus ignored his self-pity.

"Diggory and Rose made the decision to take the cup together and were whisked away. We can only assume that Crouch had created a separate portkey to transport himself to the same location when he realized that Rose had taken the cup."

"I want to see her." Lupin lifted his eyes.

"Fix yourself." The potions master said, indicating his disheveled appearance. "The girl is disturbed by your weakness after the transformation. I do not wish for her to be further upset."

The werewolf began to dress himself with care.

"How does she seem?"

"I do not know. She slept through the night. She was in a great deal of shock when I returned later from the meeting, mostly due to her injuries. I believe that Black consoled her some before that."

For having just completed a transformation, Lupin dressed himself in record time. It was uncomfortable to have his living chambers so overcrowded. Severus wasn't used to the company.

The wolf headed into the bedroom and stopped at the door. The potions masters moved to stand behind him. Black and Rose had not shifted.

"They look so peaceful." He sighed softly. "I shouldn't wake her."

Black stirred. He opened his eyes and stretched the arm that was curled around the girl. "Remus, that you?"

"Yeah. I'm here." Lupin replied.

The mutt sat up, trying not to jostle Rose and he rubbed his face. "Fuck man, you picked a bad night to be away."

The two men embraced tightly and Severus, though concerned for his charge, left them to be alone. He had no desire to endure the marauders grieving period.

Rosie was starting to wake up. She opened her eyes for a moment, and it was long enough to realize that she was in Severus' bed. A little ball of dread curled in her stomach. It was never a good thing when she woke up here. Rose whimpered as she tried to sit up, the pain in her head radiating down into her neck and jaw.

Somebody was at her side in an instant. It was Moony.

"Hey princess." He soothed, kneeling down in front of her and cupping her face in his hands.

"Moony." Rose breathed.

She remembered feeling his presence in the maze. Then she remembered. The maze. The cup. Voldemort. Cedric, oh Ced.

"They killed him." Rosie cried brokenly and her guardian didn`t waste a second.

"I know darling. I know. Severus told me what happened."

She nuzzled into his neck, wrapping seemingly her whole body around his torso and burst into heaving, loud sobs of grief.

"Oh, my sweet girl. I know it hurts. I know. You let it out."

"I t…told him to l…leave. I bloody t…told him!" She gripped onto the back of his robes as tightly as she could.

"I believe you my love. I do, but you know Cedric would've never left you there in danger baby. You know that too."

"He c…couldn't help! I k…knew as soon as I saw that the g…grave said Tom Riddle."

"He still would've never left honey. It's not your fault."

"It's not fair! He was going to be an auror. His dad was gonna be so proud." Rosie's heart ached.

"It's never fair baby, but you loved him, and you were so important to him."

"He w…wanted me to ask you if he could take me to France in the summer."

Moony nodded against her. "We'll take you to France."

"I don't even care about France, I just wanted spend time with him!" She wept again and Moony rubbed circles on her back.

They stayed like that for a long time and when Rosie finally let go, she realized that she was really not dressed appropriately. She blushed when she noticed that Siri had put his shirt on her, but she was still just in her knickers.

Rose nearly wet herself with fright as a shirtless Sirius spoke from behind. She hadn't realized that he'd been there.

"Let's see what Snape has for breakfast, how bout it?"

Her heart fluttered with anxiety. Severus. Where was Severus?

Moony saw the look in her eyes and kissed her forehead. "Severus is fine princess. He's probably just in the sitting room."

"Is he mad at me?" Rosie bit her lip and looked away.

"Mad at you? Why on earth would Severus be mad at you?"

"Because I did so many stupid things."

"Oh love, no he's not cross. He's so proud of you."

Her lip quivered and Siri groaned from behind them.

"Snape, can you come in here?" He called, and it was the most civil tone she'd ever heard him use with Severus.

Her first guardian glanced warily into the room, his cloak billowing behind him, and Rose burst into tears again when she caught sight of him. Severus appeared alarmed.

Siri opened his mouth to speak. "Please tell Rosie that you're not upset with her."

Moony sighed and made eye contact with Sirius behind her, then he squeezed her shoulder one more time and motioned for the other man to follow him.

Severus came into the room appraising her carefully as though he expected to be hexed, but Rose was too busy working herself into another hysteria.

"Rose Lily. Relax your body." He commanded, taking her hand into his.

She tried to slow her breathing.

"Child."

"I'm so sorry Severus. So sorry." She hiccoughed, leaning her head forward.

"It is I Rose, who should be on my knees begging for your forgiveness. I cannot fathom the reason that you ask for mine."

"I just… I'm so sorry that you had to see that."

"That I had to see that? Child, I made my bed a long time ago. My only concern last night was you."

"But I made it worse for you. I told him to… I…"

"You were perfect. You are the sole reason that my position as a spy is still intact."

"What? How?"

"If you think for a second that I would have allowed you to do as the Dark Lord commanded Rose, then I'm afraid I've done you a disservice. I have no notion of how you managed to break the Imperius curse, but I was on the verge of apparating you to safety."

"Sirius taught me." Rosie confessed.

"What?" Severus hissed, and for a second it looked like he was gonna get mad.

"Please don't be angry. I begged him to! We practiced every lesson."

Severus closed his eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths. "You engage in illicit activities with Black far too often."

She cracked the tiniest of smiles and shrugged.

"I want to apologize to you child for everything that you saw and heard last night. I am so deeply sorry that you were forced to bear witness to those horrendous, offensive comments about your mother as well as all the lewd ideas that I perpetuated. I should never have kissed you. That was entirely inappropriate. I swear to you that it was only done in the interest of shielding your eyes from The Dark Lord, to prevent him using legilimency on you in that moment."

"I knew you were pretending." She wriggled closer to him.

"Even so. That should not be treated as an example of how men if your life should behave."

"I understand Sir."

"Come. It is a good idea for you to eat."

"Erm…Severus." She hesitated. I know that everyone already has seen me naked like a thousand times, but do I have any pants here?"

Rosie looked down at her bare legs.

He pursed his lips and nodded, opening a drawer with his wand and summoning over a pair of her tights.

"Thanks. Sorry."

"Do not apologize for making your discomfort known child." He replied smoothly, averting his eyes so that she could change in peace.

That is what Rosie loved about Severus. He gave her so much respect, even when it didn't always feel necessary. Really, everyone did. Moony and even Sirius too. She knew that her ex-godfather had stayed with her all night, and though her heart was still heavy with grief and sorrow, Rose felt at least some semblance of peace knowing that she was loved.


	83. Chapter 83

**AN-Sorry this chapter took so freaking long, I've been having just terrible writers block! Don't worry, it won't last, I have concrete plans for the next few chapters, it was just this one! – Meg.**

Rosie's heart felt foreign in her body. It hung like dead weight in her chest and every once in a while, the force of its pull was powerful enough to take her breath away. She was no stranger to grief, having dealt with it for as long as she could remember; however, this, Cedric, it was a new type of pain. It was fresher, but almost more pungent at the same time. The wound was raw and each time that the thick tendrils of a scab began to settle, to cover it, they would be ripped away again.

Rose had been at the cottage for a few days, but she had barely left her room. People came in and out and almost every day there seemed to be a new person sharing her bed, speaking to her. Moony would come to comfort her, whispering softly and telling her stories. He stayed with her every night.

Siri was different. He would come into her room, pull up a chair and just sit there staring at her, or sometimes at the wall. It was like he wanted to be around her, to make sure she was alright, but wasn't sure what to say.

Even Ginny had come to visit a couple times. The other girl would lay in the bed with her, holding her hand.

Severus was the most integral member of the crisis management team. He did a lot of the dirty work that Moony didn't have the heart for. It was similar to what he'd done after Lockhart. He came in the evenings after classes to make sure that she showered and changed her clothes. He watched her, arms crossed as she ate minimal portions of food to satisfy his insistence. Once, on a particularly bad night when she'd been actively crying, he'd even crawled into the bed beside her and patted her arm for a while.

Nobody talked about Cedric. It was almost suffocating, the silence. Rosie wanted to talk about him. She wanted to say his name and feel him next to her. She wanted him back, but that was something that even, coddled as she was, nobody could give to her.

Severus had put a ban on discussing what had happened that evening in the graveyard until Rose was ready to tell the story herself. He refused to tell Moony and Sirius what went on without her permission, and they, most especially Siri, was becoming agitated by it. Dumbledore was siding with the potions master, probably out of loyalty, and that frustrated them even more. Rosie just wasn't sure what to say. She could barely think about that night without bursting into tears or dissociating herself.

It was the night before school was to let out, and Rose was comfortably sandwiched between Moony and her duvet when she felt something come to grasp around her arm.

She froze, panic gripping her chest until she felt whispered breath tickle her ear.

"Shh. It's just me Rosie. Don't wake Remus. Come."

It was Siri.

Rosie slithered out of Moony's grasp and followed her ex-godfather out of the room.

"You scared me!" She whined, hitting his arm lightly.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to get your attention." He draped an arm around her.

"Why? It's the middle of the night."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to…erm, bring you somewhere. I couldn't sleep, and I figured you might want to tag along."

"Where are we going?" Rosie cocked her head to the side curiously.

"It's a place I've always liked. Just trust me." He smiled, and Rose did.

She took his arm as they stepped out into the night and he did his little spin, apparating her.

They landed on a wide expanse of dirt, and neither of them were wearing any shoes.

"Siri, where are we?" She asked, gripping her arm and trying to stand of her tip toes so that she didn't get her bare feet dirty.

Sirius turned to face her, winked, and then took her elbows in his hands. "Prongslet. Relax. You can be so uptight. Just put your feet on the ground and walk with me. We're safe."

Rosie nodded and lowered down until her heels were touching the dirt.

Her ex-godfather shook his head and laughed. "You're adorable Rosie, It's just a bit farther up here."

They came to a ledge, and when Rose leaned forward to peer over the side her stomach did a flip flop. It was some sort of canyon, and the drop off was steep. Siri flashed her a grin and moved to sit down, sticking his legs over the side like it was no big deal.

Rosie made a face.

"C'mon, be brave Gryffindor girl." He teased, patting the spot next to him.

She rolled her eyes and slowly sat down, scooting next to him, and clinging to his arm as she took in the view. It was beautiful. Rose had never been anywhere like it before, but Siri seemed to be familiar with the place.

"It's called, Cassius Point. I used to come here all the time to think." He pointed up at the sky. "You can see most of the major stars and constellations from here."

"Like Sirius." Rose smiled and pointed up to the spot where she knew the dog star shone.

"Hey, how'd you know?"

"Don't think I didn't look up all the information I could about the Blacks when I heard that infamous mass murderer Sirius was after me." She snorted. "You're all named after stars and constellations and stuff."

"Mm. Very good Miss Potter, and that one there?" He motioned towards Orion's belt.

"That's Orion the hunter. Sirius Orion Black." Rosie repeated, biting her lip.

"Aha, you know that too. Orion was my father's name. Did you know that?"

She nodded slowly.

"The night after I ran away from home, Jamesy and I came out here and we took turns cursing the air, sending up hexes towards Orion, taking out the frustration." There was a comforting nostalgia behind his eyes.

"You came up here with my dad?" Rosie had been trying to refer to James as dad around Sirius as much as possible so that he'd stop getting mad about it.

"Yup. That night, and lots of other times after that. We came up here when Reggie joined the death eaters, and when James' folks died, the night before your dad got married, when you were born, and the night your parents went into hiding."

Rose took a shaky breath and buried her face into Siri's shoulder. "That's really sweet, and really sad." She mumbled.

"Yeah it is." He rubbed her back lightly. "I was always gonna bring you up here, because, well, you're Little Prongs, but this seemed like a good time. See, we used to come up here to deal with changes, and I think maybe this qualifies."

"Uh, yeah, I think dead boyfriend counts." She sighed.

"You know, I'm not really one to talk, you see how hard it's been for me since James…well, you know, but it does get easier."

"Azkaban probably didn't help the grieving process much."

"Er, no not really, but we're talking about you precious. I know it hurts really bad right now, but it'll get easier."

"Every time I close my eyes, I see him get hit. I didn't realize at first that he died. I heard the curse, and I've heard it before. I've always known it, but I didn't want to believe…I tried to wake him up."

"Oh Rosie, C'mere." He pulled her closer.

"That's what I did when I found James. I tried to revive him, even though I knew it was too late. Same with Lils."

"I never wanted anyone to die for me Siri. I don't want anyone else to. I should've been the one…"

"Woah. No no no. Don't even finish that sentence because if you had died… god, I can't even think about it Rose. That would have been the worst possible…fuck no."

"Siri don't say that. Cedric is…was just as important as me." She interjected, her voice breathy and sad.

"I get it hon, I do, but please. You saw how upset Amos was… you picture that face on Remus and then tell me that you want to die."

The image pushed its way into her brain without permission and Rosie felt sick.

"Not pretty, am I right? Think about Snape. I'm pretty sure you're the only person in the world that that git likes to be around.

"Enough with the guilt trip. Please Sirius. I'm not gonna kill myself, I just feel so bad that he died to protect me. Everyone dies to protect me."

"Maybe that's because you're worth protecting Prongslet." He wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

Rosie huffed and moved in even closer, wrapping and arm around him. "I love you Siri. She'd never said that to him before.

"Aw honey I love you too." He beamed.

"You know, you saved me out there in the graveyard, more than once."

"What? I'm pretty sure I was just shitting myself in the stands."

"Um, well for starters, the Imperius curse. I fought it off, twice."

"Did you really?" Sirius sat up straighter now, his expression interested.

Rosie nodded. "Mhm. Voldemort was pissed. That's why he tortured me after." She shivered a little at the memory.

"Hon, that's impressive but, I would take the Imperius over the Cruciatus any day."

"Not if he told you to perform uncomfortable sex acts on your guardian you wouldn't."

Siri's mouth dropped open. "What the fuck. He told you to… Good lord. Rosie. That's…something else. I'm so sorry."

"Well, thanks to you I didn't have to do it. I mean, I know that Severus would've gotten me out of there before that ever happened, but then he would've lost his place as a spy."

"Shit. Thank Merlin for small mercies."

"And you helped me get away from him after… to get back to the portkey, and…Cedric."

Her eyes glazed over, and she couldn't continue.

"What do you mean I helped you?" Sirius' face contorted in confusion.

"I'm sorry… I can't." She choked, eyes filling with tears again as she pictured Ced's lifeless eyes, his cold hand which had been still against her own.

"Ok. Alrighty love. You cry as much as you want. Don't hold back for me." He rubbed her arm, tilting her closer into his chest.

Rosie allowed herself to let go again, the wound on her heart reopening, tearing itself apart from the inside out.

"It always hurts to lose your first love, and man, they don't usually die, but you'll feel better the more you talk about it."

"If I had really loved Ced, I wouldn't have slept with Malfoy so much. I would never have laughed about it or looked for it. I loved Cedric, but I was never in love with him, and maybe if I had just told him that, he never would've died."

"Sounds like a series of shitty choices." Sirius patted her arm. That was the line that she'd used on him over the holidays.

Rosie let out a hysterical laugh. "You're such a git Sirius Black." She coughed, her giggles replacing the tears.

"Yeah well, you're stuck with me I'm afraid."

When her laughs quieted, the pair sat in silence for a few more moments until her ex-godfather broke it once again.

"Do you want to jump off?"

She almost choked on her own saliva. "I'm sorry?"

"James and I used to jump off, when we were of age of course, and could catch ourselves with magic. It's very life affirming."

"Um, I don't know if you've forgotten, but I don't think I could catch myself even if I was of age."

Siri shook his head. "You're ridiculous. I'm obviously going to catch you Prongslet." He motioned for her to stand next to him and her body began to tremble with anticipation.

"Relax. It's fun."

Rosie gripped his arm again and he slid an arm securely around her waist. She fought to keep her eyes open and Sirius counted down from three.

The feeling was indescribable. It was better than flying. There was zero control, and Siri looked just so…happy that any fear evaporated instantly as soon as their feet left the ground. All that Rosie could hear was Siri's laughter and shouting, and she gave into it, enjoying herself alongside him, forgetting anything that had been wrong before their jump.

It was over too quickly, and making true to his promise, Sirius caught them with such an ease that it was almost laughable. He spun her around at the bottom of the canyon and Rosie felt so alive that she just let him.

"I love this!" She called, smiling so wide that her face hurt.

"Me too kid. We should get you home, before Remus wakes up, but I promise we'll come back, Deal?"

"Deal." Rosie agreed as she allowed him to apparate her away.

Elation turned to guilt when the arrived to find Moony waiting on the couch. He was frowning, and the worry lines had begun to set.

"Moony…" She started, gnawing at her bottom lip.

The werewolf stood up and caressed her cheek softly, giving her a kiss on the head.

"You frightened me." He whispered, but he wasn't angry with her. He was never angry with her.

"I'm sorry Moony."

"No lovey, it's ok, as long as you're safe. You just give me and Sirius a moment, kay?"

Rosie nodded and shot Siri an apologetic stare. He just winked and watched her disappear towards the stairs. She stopped to listen at the bottom.

Moony was upset with him.

"You couldn't have left a note Sirius?" Her godfather started.

"Remus, I'm sorry, it was spur of the moment, I should've told you."

"Listen, I get it, you forgot. Just…I am Rosie's guardian and I'm responsible for her while she's here, and of course I trust you with her, there's no questioning that, I just would rather know where she is. Yeah?"

Rosie could almost see Siri put his hands up defensively. "I know, I know. I'll leave a note next time. I promise."

"Thank you. Where'd you go?"

"I took her up to Cassius."

"Did you really? Sometimes you can be such a hopeless nostalgic Padfoot. Did she have fun?"

"I think so. I got her to jump."

Moony let out a laugh. "Well, that's no surprise. That kid _would_ follow you off a cliff, in a good mood anyways."

"To be fair, I was surprised. I didn't think she would."

"She may be Lily on the surface, but Potter blood still runs through those veins." The werewolf continued.

"Yeah it does." Siri affirmed happily. "She's calling him dad again."

Rosie squirmed awkwardly on the stairs. She really shouldn't be eavesdropping.

"I told you that talking to Snape would help."

"Well, maybe you've got a point, maybe Sniv does actually have a soft spot for her."

She growled at the nickname. Of course, the git still used it when he thought she couldn't hear.

"Trust me, he does." Moony nodded. "Anyways, I'm glad you had fun, but next time, let me know. This is not the best time to be kidnapping her without telling anyone."

"Fine fine. I know. I'm really sorry Moony."

It sounded like the two men hugged, which Rosie found incredibly sweet.

"Don't forget that Albus is coming by in a few hours. Make sure you're up, but don't wake Rosie. I don't want her to worry until we have to." He guardian said.

That was her cue to get her butt up to bed before Moony came back up to find her. What was Dumbledore coming over to talk about?


	84. Chapter 84

Rosie barely slept after they arrived home. She was being sneaky and underhanded, but she didn't want to fall asleep because she wanted to listen in on the conversation with Dumbledore. It wasn't that she didn't trust Moony's judgement, but even if there was another problem to focus on, it might help split her attention so that she wasn't solely focused on Ced.

Rose wasn't going to listen in again, so when she heard the headmaster arrive through the floo, she put on some clothes and went downstairs yawning casually as though she hadn't been biding her time in the bedroom.

"Morning Moony, Siri, Headmaster. Is everything ok?"

"Rosie…you're awake." Her guardian's smile was fake, and Sirius eyed her suspiciously.

"Yes, okay fine. I woke up on purpose. I want you to tell me what's wrong."

"Oh Princess, have a seat." Moony sighed, motioning to the dining table.

Rosie's heart froze and stuttered. If there was actually something wrong, Severus should be there.

"Is Severus ok?" The question came out hurried.

"Ah yes, our potions master is just fine my dear girl. In fact, I do believe he's brewing." Dumbledore smiled serenely.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Alright, whatever it is can't be worse than Severus being hurt."

"No, it's nothing like that Rosie, it's just…well, there's a change that we have to make this summer and Remus here is worried that you might feel wary about it." Siri reached out for her hand.

"Um, what kind of change? Are you like dating someone Moony? Because I don't think we needed to have a family meeting about that."

Moony choked on his tea. "No honey. No dating." He scrunched up his face.

"I have re-formed a resistance group for the light that was in session during the last wizarding war called the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore interjected, smiling politely.

"The Order of the Phoenix? Alright. You guys are joining then?" Rosie furrowed her brows.

"Well, we've always been members love." Her guardian nodded. "Only, there's a catch this time. The Order needed a secret place to meet, and Sirius said that he would lend them his old family home."

"You have a house?" She turned to her ex-godfather.

Sirius scowled. "Unfortunately."

"Anyways sweet pea, Professor Dumbledore has asked us, the three of us…" He clarified, "To move into Sirius' old house and fix it up while its being used as Headquarters for the Order."

Moony bit his lip. He seemed nervous to tell her.

"So, we're moving?"

"Yeah. It looks like it princess."

Rosie nodded slowly. "Okay, but we're still all going to be there right? And what about Severus? Is he in the Order?"

"Yes, and yes honey. Nothing will change in that sense… only there will be more people around. It looks like the Weasleys are gonna be spending some time there, as well as the other Order members on meeting nights. It won't be as private as it is here."

"Alright…that sounds… fine, I guess. Er, when?"

"Within the next few days probably love." Siri jumped in.

"Kay, well just let me know what I can do to help." Rose sighed.

"You're an angel." Moony circled the table and kissed her head. "I see that you're out of bed this morning." He noted casually.

"Yeah well, I guess something must have knocked some sense into me." She responded, winking.

"I don't have a clue what you're on about." Siri chuckled and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

Rosie was on her way upstairs after breakfast when Moony tapped on her arm from behind on the stairs.

"Hon. Can I ask a favor from you?"

She nodded.

"Listen, Padfoot's going over to the house later this afternoon to have a first look around, and well, it makes him uncomfortable to be there… I was gonna go with him, but I just see how happy he is when he's with you, so I thought maybe, because you guys seem to be getting along…"

Rose bit her lip and then smiled. "I'll go with him. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you. I'm sure he'll feel a lot better with you there. He's been really trying lately."

"I know Moony. Siri and I are fine."

"You're the most wonderful girl. Do you know that?"

"I love you too." She grinned, falling into his arms like a little girl and wrapping herself around him in a hug.

"You're so strong Rosie. I'm so proud of you for everything." He soothed, pulling her head closer into his shoulder.

Later, when it was time for Siri to go, Rosie came back downstairs and snuck up behind him, covering his eyes with her hands.

"Guess who?"

"Oh, what a mystery."

"Take me with you. I'm bored." She whined, spinning him around to face her.

Rose swore she saw his eyes light up. "You wanna come?"

"Yeah! Why not? I want to see what horrors lie behind those brooding, anguished eyes."

"You're such a little…" He growled, poking her sides.

"A little what? A little adorable godchild?"

"Yeah that's exactly what I was gonna say." He muttered sarcastically.

"So, are you gonna let me come? Because I could always tell Moony that you rejected me so that he uses his detention voice on you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Uh, once, I was yelling at Ced in the corridor about Meadow…and Moony didn't know, and he overheard, and well, let's just say, he acted, _strict_ , which for our favorite werewolf is like the same as murderous."

Sirius chuckled. "Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of that before…a few times."

"I think he was always like that with Cedric though, probably because he didn't know what a shitty girlfriend I was." Her eyes stung but she smiled.

"Yeah you kinda were." He touched his thumb to her chin. "But, Diggory was a terrible boyfriend and you loved him anyways, so it doesn't really matter now."

Rosie sucked in a breathed and nodded, pushing her tears back. "Let's go. Time to relive your demons instead of mine." She grinned evilly.

"It's like if Snape and James had a child. That's what you are."

She whirled around. "Did you really just say that?" Her eyes shone with mirth.

"Yeah because you're like all James sometimes, but that bloody smile is evil. It's Snapey…" He wrinkled his nose.

Her eyes widened and she looked up towards the ceiling, folding her hands in prayer. "Um, dad, did you just hear what your best friend said to me? Your very best friend in the world thinks I smile like Snape."

"Get out of here you menace." Siri hissed, glaring at her and pushing her towards the door.

"You're wrong though." Rosie giggled.

"Wrong about what?"

"Severus doesn't smile Siri."

Her ex-godfather just shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, doing his little spin. They landed outside somewhere on a regular, muggle looking street.

"Dumbledore's already put it under the fidelius. Read this." He handed her a piece of paper.

 _The Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix is located at number 12 Grimmauld Place._

"What kind of a weird name is…"

Siri pressed a finger to her lips. "Precious. It's a secret location. Don't say it out loud, just remember it."

"Oh shit, sorry."

"Naw it's fine, it's the protection charm, just picture the address in your mind yeah?"

Rose read it over once again and the townhouse buildings in front of them began to shift, creating a space, which was quickly filled by another house.

"Welcome home." Siri grumbled from beside her and Rosie wished she could remember the incantation for the cheering charm.

Stepping into the house, the chill of untouched air and stale magic hung like a curtain. Sirius shivered beside her and Rose touched his arm in support. This couldn't be easy for her ex-godfather.

The hallway was exceptionally long, and they walked slowly, taking in the bare walls until they came across what appeared to be a large painting. It was shrouded from view by a thick shade.

"Um… do you want me to open it?" She asked, motioning towards the painting.

"No!" Siri almost yelled. "Er, don't touch anything. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Hurt?" Rose shot back, confused, but it seemed that the man's shout had awoken the artwork. A horrible scream ripped through the walls as the drape swung open.

"HOW DARE YOU RETURN TO THIS HOUSE!? FILTH, VERMIN, A TRAITOR OF HIS OWN FLESH!"

"Ahh!" She cried, backing into Sirius, who caught her and swore as the portrait continued to screech.

He drew his wand and pointed it at the painting, but Rosie could barely hear what he had cast over the noise. Siri must have silenced it because after a moment all she could hear was his breath, short and sharp behind her.

"What was that?" She asked nervously.

"That, Prongslet, was my mother."

"Your mother… ok."

He flushed red and then pulled her forward, leaving the shade over the portrait once again. At the end of the hallway was an intersection. There were stairs to the right, and the kitchen was to the left. Rosie was directed into the kitchen, and it didn't take long before they were joined by another unwelcome guest.

Rose didn't notice at first until Siri groaned. "Bloody hell, that elf is still alive."

Turning around to where her ex-godfather stood, she was met with the sight of a strange, ugly little creature dressed in a rag. It was polishing the ornate table and muttering something unintelligible.

"Erm, Siri, what is that?"

"You've never seen a house elf before?"

She shook her head. "No…"

"House elves are magical creatures bound to serve wizarding families. Apparently, this one hasn't died yet."

"Your family had slaves?"

"Yup, and now I have one." He gestured to the elf who turned to glare at them.

"Master Sirius has returned." The thing croaked. "And he has brought a whore. Kreacher wonders what his poor mistress would have to say about this. Oh, the shame!"

Rose had never seen Sirius react so fast before. He lunged forward and she did too, grabbing his arms, trying to pull him back.

"Deep breaths Siri. It's fine. I've been through worse than your slave calling me a whore."

He seemed to be trying to compose himself for her. "Kreacher. Get out of my sight." Sirius commanded hotly.

"As master wishes." The elf bowed low and disappeared.

"He talks like a snake." Rosie observed distractedly.

"Huh?"

"That's how snakes talk to me, all that yes mistress, as you wish mistress stuff."

"Rose Potter the snake mistress. Lovely." He sighed, smirking ever so slightly. She could see how tense he was.

"This doesn't look so bad Siri, a bit dark, but I'm sure we'll have it fixed up in no time."

"Yeah, I haven't brought you upstairs yet Prongslet."

The upstairs of the house was like un untouched battleground. The dust had formed into a thick carpet, covering everything. Rosie gulped back her disgust at the sight of the uniform line of severed house elf heads leading them through the first corridor.

"Siri, _that_ has to go." She pointed towards them.

"Consider it done." He cringed.

Rose stopped to look at a strange painting on the wall just after the heads and Sirius kept going. She found him a few minutes later standing outside of what she assumed was a bedroom. He was touching the nameplate on the door. When Rosie got closer, she saw that it was his own room.

"Oh shit." She whispered from beside him. "I didn't realize they'd kept your room."

He pursed his lips thinly. "Me neither."

Siri held open the door for her to enter and she went inside. The mood lightened instantly as Rose broke into a fit of laughter.

Even through the layer of dust, Gryffindor red lined the walls. There was a large Gryffindor banner draped over the bed, and quidditch posters everywhere. On the desk, sat a magical picture of the marauders that made her smile wider, and on the farther wall hung a muggle motorcycle calendar, ladies and all.

Siri was standing awkwardly to the side. Rosie had never seen him so subdued, but she couldn't stop laughing.

"This is exactly how I pictured your childhood bedroom Sirius Black." She approached him carefully. "I love it."

He cracked a smile at that. "Pretty neat eh?"

"It is so undeniably you."

"Not so much anymore I don't think." His face dropped again. "I wish…but I think a lot of that me is gone now."

"Have you tried protecting those parts of you?" She mocked, quoting his words to her in her defense lesson.

"Rosie…"

"Oh, shut up Siri, I didn't even know you then and I recognized you in the room the moment you opened the door.

"You know I wasn't joking earlier when I said I see Snape in you too. I see so many people, your dad, Lily, Remus, but mostly I just see Rosie, and she's a pretty amazing person."

"Are you trying to make me cry? You big sap. I can't have this conversation." She laughed, but the laugh came out more like a sob.

After the initial tour of the house, Moony came back with them and they began cleaning because, due to a secret death eater attack in London, Dumbledore had called the first order meeting for the next day. Rosie was becoming worried about Severus. She'd wanted to visit after she and Sirius had gone to Grimmauld place the first time, but Moony had said that Severus was busy that night and couldn't have her there.

Severus had never been too busy to see her before.

On the night of the meeting, Rosie cooked. She made spaghetti for everyone and left it under a heating charm until they arrived. Rose had sent along a note with Dumbledore to Severus asking if he would come early but she hadn't received a response. Moony was obviously worried about her. He kept fussing. She never denied his attention, having been deprived of it for many years, but nerves fluttered in her belly at the thought of her first guardian.

He arrived half an hour before the meeting was supposed to start looking as normal as ever and Rosie almost bowled him over in a hug.

"Severus, I missed you." She said, clinging to him tightly.

He seemed surprised by the display of affection but hugged her back anyways.

"I wanted to come see you the other day… but Moony said you were busy." Rose pushed.

He made an uncomfortable noise and nodded. "Yes. Rose, there are going to be times now where… it will be unsafe for you to visit with me in my home. That does not mean that you are unwelcome, only that it is wise to check in with Lupin before doing so."

She frowned. "Okay. I'm sorry sir."

"It is in no way your fault."

The Weasleys interrupted them, arriving early with plates of food. Ginny waved but disappeared with Ron into another room, and the twins followed them. Molly Weasley began to serve the food that she'd brought onto plates, kissing Rosie on the cheek and bustling past her.

"I already cooked for everyone." She said softly, looking up at Severus.

The potions master closed his eyes and sighed.

Rose stuck close to Severus' side as the other order members began to arrive, sitting down to eat the food that she hadn't made. Moony frowned at her when he saw what Molly had brought and Siri went into the kitchen and returned levitating four plates of spaghetti.

That made her smile. Rosie sat between Severus and Moony at the table with Sirius at the head, next to their favorite werewolf.

Nobody really talked to her, and there were a lot of people she didn't recognize, but people stared, as usual. Rose just ate her spaghetti quietly and then leaned against the potions master and closed her eyes. He rubbed her arm, probably trying to sooth her.

Somebody else was arriving, and she didn't pay much attention until a loud voice boomed from directly behind her,

"Evening ladies and gents."

The voice was gruff, and oh so familiar, and Rosie didn't even need to look to know who was speaking. It was Moody. She whipped around and her eyes widened as she took in the man who had plagued her nightmares for days.

Rose let out a whimper and then a sob and buried her face into Severus' chest.

He groaned and tried to relax back into the chair.

"Sweetie?" Moony touched her back.

Rosie flinched. "I don't want him here." She whispered to the pair of them as Moody went off to speak with someone else from the ministry.

Severus rubbed his temples and Moony looked as though he was having a very hard time denying her request.

"Princess, Alastor is the head of the aurors."

"I don't want him here. He killed… he…" Rose began to splutter, this time louder.

She didn't really notice when Sirius got up from the table as the two men tried to convince her not to make a scene.

Sirius sighed in frustration. He hadn't thought about the fact that Rosie might have a hard time separating Moody her professor from the real Alastor Moody.

Approaching from behind, he cleared his throat and spoke,

"Mad-eye Moody."

The man spun around with a grin on his face and stuck out a hand.

"Sirius Black. Good to see you on this side of the job son." He grunted and Sirius chuckled.

"Can I speak to you about something? Privately."

The auror's false eye whizzed around in a circle, and he glared suspiciously but followed Sirius into the kitchen.

"What is it?" The other man grunted, and he sighed.

"Listen, I'm sure you're just as pissed as we all are about your… er, identity change last year, but when you walked in just now, well, Rosie's frightened out of her socks just from the sound of your voice. Do you think you could maybe speak with her?"

"I see… And why is that?"

"Uh, this is a delicate subject, but _Professor_ Moody spent the whole year being completely cruel to Rose. She came crying about him to lessons pretty often… then he murdered her boyfriend in front of her eyes, slapped her across the face, tied her to a headstone, cut her with a knife, and brought Voldemort back to life a couple weeks ago."

"Mm. Show me to the girl then." He nodded, motioning for them to leave the kitchen. Sirius prayed he wasn't about to make the situation worse for her.

"Hey Prongslet." He coaxed from behind Snape.

Rosie looked up and her face contorted in shock at the sight of Siri standing next to Moody.

"I wanted you to meet someone." He presented and the horrible auror grunted and introduced himself like they weren't already intimately familiar with each other.

Severus had stood up beside Rosie and was glaring daggers at Sirius. She pressed into the ex-death eater and gnawed on her lip.

"Lass, I am not the man you think you know…" He started.

Rose shook her head and turned away as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, I can't." All she could picture was that ugly face caught in a sneer, teasing her about Lockhart, his eyes roaming over her half naked body. She could hear his lips form the words to the killing curse.

"You do not have to do anything you do not wish to do Rose." Severus growled and pulled out her chair so that she could sit down again with Moony.

He guardian was frowning at Sirius.

"Black. Kindly take your friend and place him at the other side of the table." Severus ordered and Siri sighed, motioning for the awful man to follow him away.

"Rosie honey. I think Sirius was just trying to help you see that he's not the same Alastor that you met." He sighed from beside her.

"It's fine." She snapped. "It's fine. He can stay or whatever, but I'm not going to forget everything that he did to me… to Cedric." Her voice cracked. "It doesn't matter who he is now. I can't ever forget that."

"Funny how forgiving she is of some errors and not others eh Snape?" Siri raised an eyebrow, coming back alone and sitting in his seat.

"Sirius, fuck off!" She hissed, slamming her hand down on the table.

"Language Rose." Severus warned, allowing her to lean against him again as Moony tried to calm her ex-godfather down.

Luckily, Dumbledore arrived right after that and everyone fell silent.

The headmaster introduced himself, although it wasn't necessary, and explained the origins of the Order of the Phoenix. He was just about to begin when Molly Weasley coughed from the other side of the table.

"Headmaster, Rose is still in the room. Perhaps she should join the other children upstairs."

Rosie opened her eyes and looked up at Severus, but Dumbledore just smiled. "I believe that would be up to her guardian Molly."

"Rosie can stay." Moony waved his hand from her right side.

"Very well than, shall we continue?" He waved his wand and a large piece of paper appeared.

Molly coughed again and knocked on the table. "I was under the impression that the order was only suitable for adult witches and wizards." The woman pressed.

"All due respect Molly, but I think she'll be fine." Moony replied, still smiling.

"Well. I'll have you know that that girl lived with me before she lived with you Remus and I have seen firsthand the devastation that the hardships in her life have caused her."

Rosie sat up straighter now. "Erm. Can we not have this discussion at the table?"

"Rose dear, why don't you go join the other children?"

She knew that Moony and Sirius would just tell her everything afterwards anyways, neither of them had refusal powers when it came to her, but Rose wanted to stay with Severus. She wasn't sure when the next time she'd be able to see him would be.

"I'd rather stay." Rosie looked up at the potion's master.

"I see no reason to remove the girl from the meeting." He interjected.

"Severus she's just a girl!" Molly appealed to him now.

"Why does this concern you Molly?" Siri asked in annoyance, their fight seemingly forgotten.

"Because it is not responsible to allow a child to listen to such a mature subject matter."

Last year at this time, that comment would be enough to put Rosie in attack mode, but she was trying to breath through it, keeping her head firmly planted on Severus' shoulder.

"Molly, the issue has already been decided upon." Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Rose is more than welcome to stay. I have confidence in her."

The woman turned red very quickly but shut her mouth. Rose felt like this might not be the last time that this issue would be broached.

The meeting was sort of interesting. They were all made to introduce themselves, and then the professor gave them a run down of what had been happening, and also what had not been happening. When it was Severus' turn to speak, Rosie just nestled into him and let his voice be a comfort to her.

"The Dark Lord wishes to stay under the radar. His aim is to discredit both yourself, Headmaster, and Rose. He does not wish for anyone at the ministry to believe that he had returned, and he will most likely launch attack propaganda through his spies on the inside."

Rosie wasn't sure if anyone was actually listening to the potions master or if they were all too busy staring at her obvious attachment to him. She ignored them all and felt herself drifting off.

Severus smirked as the girl fell asleep on his shoulder. He knew that she couldn't care less about the actual contents of the meeting, she just didn't like to be asked to leave. Lupin smiled at him, and Severus scowled back.

When the meeting ended and everyone began to leave, Severus turned to the two marauders.

"It will be imperative to check in regularly and debrief with Rose. The Dark Lord is intent on discrediting her. This could mean public coverage of a different nature regarding Lockhart, and some unfortunate mistruths that might be spread about Diggory's death."

Lupin nodded, and Black seemed to be anxious. They sat in silence for a while until the child started to stir.

"Sorry. Fell asleep." She mumbled. "Sorry for telling you to fuck off Siri, just don't wanna see Moody."

"It's fine kid." Black winked.

Severus was just about to thank her for the dinner when he felt his mark burn. Lupin caught his eye and cringed.

"What?" Rose turned to look at him.

"I must go." He nodded, pursing his lips.

"No wait, don't leave yet." The girl pleaded with him and Severus tried to occlude.

"Rose. I have some urgent business to attend to. I apologize."

Black scoffed. "Urgent business loving up on your master."

The child's eyes widened at Black's words and panic set into her expression. "No. No don't go. Please, don't go there. Please." Her eyes were wet with tears.

Severus had never regretted becoming a death eater more than in that moment as he pried Rose's hands away from his robes and turned away from her. Time was very much of the essence. She cried out for him as he swept out of the room and Severus could hear Lupin trying to comfort her, but he still felt like a monster. His only comfort was in knowing that despite her discontent with the process, Severus was only doing the best he could to aid in her continued survival.


	85. Chapter 85

Rosie could not calm herself down. She couldn't. Moony had reminded her gently that the longer she delayed Severus, the more dangerous the situation would become, which was the only reason she didn't run out the door after him. Her guardian was upset with Sirius for upsetting Rose, and Sirius was mad at himself. Rosie was so anxious she thought she might be sick. Voldemort was going to take Severus away from her. He'd already taken Cedric, and for now Moony and Siri were pretty safe, but Severus was there with him, all the time.

"My love. Let's go back to the cottage and keep packing some things how bout? We can pack until Severus is done at his meeting, and then we can ask him to pop over to see you before bed."

Rose ignored his suggestion. "Can you call Dumbledore to come here? Please Moony, can you ask him to bring his pensive?"

"His pensive? Honey what do you need that for?"

"Please Moony just, ask. I just need to get these thoughts out of my head. I need help occluding."

"I'll go." Siri volunteered. "I think that's a good idea."

Rosie nodded and fell into Moony again. "I'm scared he's gonna die, or that he's going to be forced to do really horrible things, and I don't want him to."

"I know sweet pea, but Severus has been doing this for a long time. He's very smart, you know that."

"But sometimes not where I'm involved." She cried. "He almost ruined the whole spy mission because of me, and what if he does that again only this time, he actually does make Voldemort mad enough to kill him?"

"Rosie, it's going to make it a lot easier for him to do his job properly when you aren't there. I'm sure it was very tough for him when you were, but as long as we keep you safe, and out of the hands of Voldemort, Severus will be safe too."

"What if he decides that it's safer for me to never see him? What if he says I can't spend time with him anymore?"

"Darling, let me be the first to tell you that Severus Snape is way to selfish a man to do that. I have never seen him this… close to anyone. You need to trust that Severus wants to be around you enough that he'll find a way."

She nodded tearfully, just as Sirius came back through with the headmaster in tow along with Professor Moody from behind.

"No. No not you again." Rosie backed away, glaring angrily at her ex-godfather.

"Rose dear…" Dumbledore began. "Alastor is a dear friend of mine and he would really like a chance to make amends to you for his impersonator's behavior over the past year.

"I know it wasn't you ok?" She nearly shouted at the auror. "I already know that, but it doesn't change anything. It's not you I'm scared of. It's your voice and your sneer, and the way that you speak."

"Ok. Relax Rosie, relax." Moony rubbed her arm.

"No. I'm done with this. Just, I want all of you to go into the pensive and watch what happened in the graveyard so maybe you'll all finally understand why I can't sleep, and why I can't see Professor Moody without practically wetting myself!"

Sirius stepped forward. "I think we'd like to see hon, but none of use feel comfortable leaving you here alone while we watch, so we'll wait."

"Well, I'm not watching again but I'm only taking this memory out of my head tonight so it's now or never." She delivered them an ultimatum.

Dumbledore smiled from his position next to Moody. "I was already provided with Severus' copy of the memory. I would be more than happy to wait here with Rose whilst you three are in the pensive."

"Thanks Professor." She shot him a small smile.

Then she approached Moony. "On one condition."

"What's that princess?"

"You are not allowed to avoid me again."

Moony closed his eyes in shame. He was probably thinking of her naked and crying. When he opened them again, he nodded seriously.

"I promise."

Rosie believed him.

Rose brought her wand up to her temple like Severus had taught her and replayed the memory, dragging it piece by piece from her skull before placing it in the pensive. She caught a glimpse of Cedric's face swirling in the pot and that was enough to cause her to turn around.

"Alright, go ahead." She whispered and went into the sitting room to wait it out.

Rosie sat in silence for a moment until the headmaster entered the room.

"My dear girl, I'd like to use this moment alone to speak with you about something very important if you'll let me."

"What is it professor?" She turned to face him, sitting on her knees on the couch.

He pulled up a chair and sat across from her.

"Rose, I'd like to preface this by saying that I have seen a lot of horrific crime in my life… but rape is by far the most ghastly."

"Uh… yeah I'm inclined to agree with that." She looked away uncomfortably.

"I do not wish to alarm or upset you, but it is so rare that I get a moment alone with you and I don't want Severus, nor do I want Remus to hear me speak with you about this."

She frowned and nodded. "Ok sir. What's up?"

"I am worried Rose that you are perhaps becoming too complacent in your guardians' ability to keep you safe."

"Are you saying they're not capable of protecting me?"

"Not necessarily… it is just that, well, my sister was the same as you child. She too was raped at a young age, and she relied very heavily on myself and my brother to care for her."

"Oh Professor. I'm so sorry." Rosie breathed, her chest felt heavy with the weight of the new information.

"You are very kind my dear girl. Continuing to my point, Ariana, my sister, relied so much on my protection of her that she neglected to learn how to stand on her own."

"Sir, I'm trying, I really am, Sirius is helping me, and I did everything I could in the graveyard…" She interrupted defensively.

"That is not up for debate. You, dear girl, have made miracles out of your negative experiences, that's what I was about to say. You are very different from my sister in that you have proven yourself more than capable. However, I do not want you to neglect your own training due to fear of what is to come."

"Well I don't really know what's coming sir if I'm being honest."

"Ah yes, I thought we might run into this little hitch. You see, if you are going to be in the order meetings, and you desire to remain awake to listen…" He teased, "You will begin to hear of a prophecy. A prophecy that Voldemort is intent on retrieving."

"Like a prediction?"

"Yes, exactly like a prediction."

"Oh gosh, why do I have a feeling that I don't even wanna know?"

"What I am about to tell you Rose is confidential information. Severus is only aware of the first half of the prophecy, and Sirius and Remus are only vaguely aware of its existence."

"What does it say?"

He began to repeat the prophecy mechanically, in a soft tone.

"Neither can live while the other survives? What is that supposed to mean?"

Dumbledore just stared at her, waiting for Rose to put the pieces together.

"You mean I have to kill Voldemort, or he has to kill me?"

"Yes Rose. You do. Severus cannot help you do this, neither can Remus or Sirius. You must do it and you must be prepared."

Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "Oh dear."

"Oh dear indeed." He nodded.

"So, you're saying that you understand why I'm upset and traumatized, but that I need to buck up and stop being a baby so that I can kill the Dark Lord."

"Essentially."

"And I need to keep it a secret?"

"From Severus, yes. He is too closely linked to Voldemort, who does not know the full prophecy."

"So, Voldemort doesn't know that one of us has to kill the other?"

"No, he does not."

Rosie nodded. "I understand sir." In that moment she was too shocked to process what she was being told.

"I do apologize for burdening you with this information so young, but you must understand that some of us are slated for big destinies that we must make peace with."

"Um, Professor, how's this gonna work in occlumency lessons? Surely I'm not skilled enough yet to keep Severus from accidentally stumbling upon this in my mind."

"You will have to occlude this from him. It is very important."

"Sure, alright." She nodded nervously.

"If you have any questions or you need any support you can come to me at any time. There is no expectation that you be worrying about this right now, I am only asking that you keep training and stay as strong as possible given the circumstances. I would also not be opposed to you sharing this information with Sirius or Remus."

"I don't think Moony could handle that." Rosie smiled softly.

"Perhaps not. It's up to you child. I hope that you are able to find a balance between continuing to grieve your losses and the growth that is required of you in the years to come."

"I think that's pretty optimistic sir, but I'll give it a go."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Professor, what happened to your sister? If you don't mind me asking."

"She passed away very young." The headmaster frowned.

That had not been what Rosie was expecting. "Oh sir! I'm so so sorry! That's horrible."

She leaned forward and hugged the headmaster and his beard tickled her neck. He accepted her, and his voice quieted marginally as he spoke.

"Thank you my dear. I have so very much faith in you."

The pair were interrupted by the return of the memory viewers. Moody didn't look at her. He just went right to the headmaster and began a heated discussion about something behind a silencing spell.

Rosie pushed to the back of her mind the information that Dumbledore had just shared with her and focused on the two men who seemed a touch starstruck.

Sirius stepped forward and grasped her shoulders. "I think we need a pick me up." He sighed and moved towards the kitchen.

"Padfoot." Moony cautioned, approaching Rosie and pulling her along with him.

Sirius summoned what appeared to be firewhiskey and three glasses. He filled them evenly and then pushed them towards Rose and Moony.

Moony shook his head and gave him a weak glare but didn't do anything to stop her from drinking it.

Siri raised his glass. "To you Prongslet."

"No, not for me. For Ced." Rosie bit her lip and raised her own glass.

Her guardian nodded solemnly next to her. "To Cedric, for being brave and staying to protect our girl."

Sirius conceded and raised his glass with them. "To Diggory then."

The firewhiskey burned her throat and Rose liked it. She didn`t even make a face.

"You know… you told me that you saw your dad Rosie, but I thought you were just confused. I didn't realize…" Siri rubbed his hands over his face.

"That random ghost apparitions of my parents and my dead boyfriend appeared from Voldemort's wand." Yup." She finished his sentence. "I've been meaning to ask the Headmaster about that."

"He might not know about it princess. He only watched Severus' memory, remember? I don't think anyone else could see them but you." Moony offered.

Rosie nodded.

"Are you ok honey?" Her godfather frowned.

His words triggered something in her and Rosie dropped her head into her hands.

"Today's been a really bad day." She choked, willing herself to keep composure.

"I know sweet pea. Things are gonna get better. You'll see." He put a hand on her back.

"No, they won't." She mumbled, her conversation with Dumbledore coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Don't talk like that precious." Siri nudged her shoulder, pouring her another glass.

Rosie accepted it, ignoring Moony's cough of disapproval.

"Why does everyone want to hurt me?" She asked, downing the second glass.

Her godfather just rubbed her back.

"I mean, what did I do? Even as a baby. Did you know I lived in a cupboard for eleven years and that's why Aunt Petunia never let you in the house?" She announced giddily.

Moony's hand froze on her back and Siri's head snapped up.

"You lived where?" Her ex-godfather asked.

"In the cupboard under the stairs. Didn't get my own room till my Hogwarts letter came."

"Honey, are you trying to be funny? Because it's not funny." Moony whispered.

"I'm serious-er than Siri. Dudley used to stomp on the stairs in the mornings so that all the dust from the ceiling would fall on top of me."

She reached out and poured herself another drink.

Moony, who looked positively green didn't seem to notice but Sirius eyed her carefully.

"Careful Prongslet." He nodded towards her glass.

"I mean, why not get molested too? Now I get to be Voldemort's plaything."

"Rose. Honey, please. You are so much more than that." Moony tried to soothe her.

She gulped down the third glass of firewhiskey.

Severus returned not much later just as Sirius was trying to prevent her from leaving the house to go searching for him.

Rosie practically fell onto the potion's master who helped her up.

"You are intoxicated." He noted plainly.

"Noooo, you're intoxicated."

Her first guardian rubbed his temples roughly.

Sirius piped up from the side. "It's my fault Snape, not Remus'."

Severus just glared and pulled her into the kitchen, rounding on Moony.

"Rose will come with me tonight. This is unacceptable. I will not have her become an alcoholic under your roof. Do you have any idea how easy it is for a traumatized teenage girl to develop an addiction?"

"Severus, I apologize." Moony frowned softly, touching her face. "I guess I didn't realize how much she'd had."

"Save it wolf."

"Don't call him a wolf Severus, I don't let Siri call you that awful name so you can't call Moony a wolf." Rosie butted in.

"Just come along." Her first guardian sighed tiredly, supporting her weight.

She kissed Moony goodnight and followed Severus outside. He stared at her in horror as she began to sing softly,

"Ring around the rosey…."


	86. Chapter 86

"Please do cease that infernal singing." Severus growled as they landed outside his Spinner's End home.

Rosie shut her mouth.

She sat down at his kitchen table and the potion's masters got her a large glass of water. He did not speak but Rose wasn't in the mood to feel ashamed or embarrassed. Instead, when he sat down next to her she put her chin on her hands and asked,

"How was the meeting?"

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Enthralling. I quite enjoy discussing the various ways in which I could potentially kidnap and kill you."

She snorted. "Have you tried, 'Hey Rosie, come with me.'?" She asked lightly.

"Child, I would sooner die that present you to the Dark Lord."

He was always so bloody serious.

"I know Severus. It's either laugh or cry so…"

"Who gave you alcohol?" He demanded then.

"Siri did, after I let them see the graveyard memory."

"I see."

"Don't be mad Severus. I'm sorry, I was just so upset to see you go and then I talked to the headmaster and he erm… told me some things and then I was more upset…"

"The headmaster told you something…clarify please."

Rosie groaned. "I'm not allowed to tell you."

Severus' eyes widened and his made a fist.

"He shared with you the contents of the prophecy I imagine."

"Oh, you do know. Thank Merlin." She sighed with relief, her body sagging.

"No, I do not." He replied, his posture rigid. "I am only aware of the first line, as is the Dark Lord."

"Oh." Rosie looked down.

She wondered if it had been Dumbledore or Voldemort that had been the one to tell Severus the prophecy.

"So, I can't tell you then?"

The potion's master closed his eyes and sighed. "I am a master occlumens Rose. I have been successfully guarding information from the Dark Lord for many years now; however, all of that information has only ever put myself at risk were it to be discovered… I assume that the information shared within the prophecy would put you directly into harms way were it to be…found out?"

Rose bit her lip and nodded. "Probably…"

"Then do not tell me."

She exhaled and tugged on her hair anxiously. "Okay."

"Tell Lupin, or Black."

"What about occlumency lessons?"

"I will avoid looking for that particular information."

"You can do that?"

"Indeed."

"When will we start?"

"We can begin in the morning, when you are feeling better. In the afternoon I will floo you back to Grimmauld place."

"The house elf there calls me Master Sirius' whore."

Severus stiffened but did not say anything.

"You should sleep." He nodded finally.

Rosie conceded and allowed him to lead her upstairs to the guestroom. He transfigured her some pajamas. They were green with little frogs on them, and then he left her, touching her arm affectionately before disappearing into the hall.

She settled into bed and it wasn't long before she was asleep. Rose dreamt of a long hallway with a large ornate door at the end.

When Rosie woke up, she was locked in her room. She assumed that this meant, she wasn't allowed to leave it, so she did her hair and sat on the bed.

Severus came to the door about forty minutes later.

"I apologize child, I had an unexpected visitor."

"I figured." She shrugged. "Malfoy?"

"Unfortunately." Was all he responded.

"Draco's not so bad."

"He will be. I'd prefer you avoided mixing with the boy."

"I don't believe that Severus. I think he'll do that right thing."

Her guardian shot her a strange look.

Occlumency lessons began after breakfast and Rosie was still in her frog pajamas. She quite liked them. Severus stood propped up against the wall, arms crossed, and she was sitting down on the couch.

"Previously, I instructed in the practice of forming walls or boundaries around memories for the purpose of emotional regulation, correct?"

"Mhm. Then you made me stop."

"Though you still utilize the practice."

"When it gets really bad, yeah."

"Good. I want you to put up those shields around a memory, whichever one you like, and I will examine them."

Severus had not used legilimency on her in a very long time. She chose a memory and put up the walls, waiting for him to push in.

She felt in presence in her mind, but kept the walls standing.

When Severus pulled out, he nodded. "That will serve as a decent basis. This time, I am going to break down the walls, and you will try to keep the barrier up. Use it to cover your memory as a whole, as opposed to only one memory. Clear your mind of anything unnecessary."

"You're going to break into my thoughts now?"

He smirked. "I will try to keep it to pleasant memories."

"Alrighty…" Rosie prayed that some of her more _pleasant_ memories would stay hidden from her guardian.

He invaded her mind once again and Rose tried to concentrate on keeping the wall as a blockade in front of her memory, but it only held for a second until images began to flash quickly through her head.

 _Rosie lunged forward and pushed Sirius to the ground. "What. The. Fuck." She hissed angrily._

 _Next Memory._

 _Siri tickled her to the ground and Rosie cried with laughter. "Fine fine. You are very handsome, much handsomer than James." She admitted defeatedly._

 _Next memory_.

 _"Woah… Rose, what the hell is this?" All the light vanished from Siri's eyes as he took in the bruises that decorated the skin of her wrist._

 _"I fell." Was her automatic response._

 _Sirius hesitated. "You fell into somebody's fucking hand." He reached for her other arm, but she pulled it away._

 _"Don't touch me, Sirius."_

 _The man let go of her immediately, but he kept his eyes trained on her face. "Who grabbed you?" He asked, his tone wary._

 _"Nobody." She sighed._

 _"No, Rose, be straight with me. What is this? That doesn't just happen by itself."_

Rosie tried to push back against Severus this time. This was much more uncomfortable than she thought, but her attempts were met with a stronger resistance.

 _"Sirius." Moony stopped the man from continuing. "Leave Rosie alone."_

 _"Like a what? Were you gonna call me a bitch?" Rose baited._

 _"You didn't hear it from me." Sirius shot back, coming closer._

 _"Get away from me." She hissed, trying to turn away, but he stopped her, grabbing onto her arm._

 _Next memory._

 _"Sounds like a series of shitty choices." Sirius patted her arm._

 _Rosie let out a hysterical laugh. "You're such a git Sirius Black." She coughed, her giggles replacing the tears._

 _"Yeah well, you're stuck with me I'm afraid."_

 _Next memory._

" _That's Orion the hunter. Sirius Orion Black." She smiled up at him._

When Rosie came to, she was breathing heavily, and her head hurt. Severus had his lips pursed and was now sitting on the couch in front of her. She expected him to say something about the memories, but he didn't.

"That was an ineffective first attempt."

"Were you looking for memories about Sirius?"

"I was. I assumed that memories of him would be _appropriate_ for my eyes and relatively non-painful."

She let out a laugh. "Yeah I think that might have been the problem…"

"Go on."

"Well, and don't get mad…" She held her hands up in defense. "But when Siri was teaching me how to throw off the Imperius, he started by just getting me to walk in circles. I couldn't do anything to stop it."

Severus was glaring now.

"It wasn't until he made me do things that I actually really didn't want to do that I finally started resisting." She continued.

"What did he make you do?" The potion's master sounded concerned.

"He started erm… telling me to insult you. He would try to get me to use that name and say rude things about you. That's how I learned."

Severus nodded thoughtfully. "I see. So, you believe that if I look for memories that you do not wish for me to see, then you will learn faster?"

"Well…I did it once already a long time ago."

He raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

"Do you remember when I skipped your class and ran out onto the grounds the morning after I told Moony about Lockhart?"

"Naturally. You then ran from me again once I had tracked you down."

"Uh yeah, I had slept with Cedric for the first time right after that and when you found me later, I didn't want you to figure it out so I…"

"You led me to believe that you were upset by my remarks about your father." He finished for her; his tone hard.

Rosie nodded, blushing.

"That is defense by way of distraction. Effective, but not if you are unaware of the seeker's motivations."

"So, do you think it might work?"

"Perhaps… though I shudder to think of what I might encounter."

"Yeah, well we can make a 'no talking about it rule…'" Rosie suggested.

"I will attempt it once, and judge whether your resistance was greater or equal."

Rose opened her eyes and looked up at him, signifying her readiness, but her stomach churned. He was going to kill her. Her mind was opened like a book and they delved into Rosie's memories once again.

 _She was pressed up against the bathtub in the prefects' bathroom with Ced behind her trying not to move._

" _You can be such a jerk sometimes Cedric Diggory. No, I can't take a potion. It's not good to take them. Now, unless you want Professor Snape to give you a sex education lesson, you'll hand me a wand." She growled._

 _Next memory._

 _Rosie looked up into Sirius` eyes, guilt washing over her like cold water. "I slept with Draco Malfoy. On purpose."_

 _The man`s eyes widened._

 _"I don't even know why! I`m not even sure I really wanted to." She cried softly. "I just did, and he let me, and now Cedric is going to hate me, and I told Malfoy about Lockhart. I shouldn`t have done that."_

Rosie scrambled in her mind to build a wall up in front of her memories, but she wasn't sure if it was working.

 _Rosie's eyes widened. "I can't stand it, and I'm afraid." Draco confessed to her in the forest_

 _Then, with a soft groan, he crushed his lips to hers. Their tongues warred with each other, her body responding eagerly to his touch._

 _Then Siri appeared, his face etched in fury. "You didn't. You did NOT actually sneak out of the tent to do THIS again!" He roared, gesturing to Draco._

Rosie pushed as hard as she could on the barrier that was supposed to contain her memories. Severus could not see anymore of this. He was going to murder her. It must have worked because Rose found herself once again in the sitting room of the potion master's house.

Severus was completely still. He looked even paler than usual.

"Rose…" He started after a moment.

Rosie's heart almost leapt out of her chest. She needed to do something so that Severus wasn't cross with her. She couldn't bear it if he was cross with her.

Before he could speak again, Rose lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.

"Please don't be angry." She pleaded.

Severus sighed deeply as he took the girl into his arms. She was manipulating him, but it was working. Rose knew exactly what she had to do to calm his anger and she was utilizing every strategy. He had turned her into a Slytherin, he and the Malfoy boy. Severus had not realized how deeply the problem ran. Draco Malfoy was notorious around Slytherin house for his sexually demanding nature, much like his father, and he felt sick thinking about it.

"Child, I am not angry. I am surprised and concerned."

"Listen, I already know he's an asshole ok? We're just kinda friends."

Severus sighed and closed his eyes, allowing Rose to pull back from the hug. She was still clad in her frog pajamas, which made her appear younger than she really was.

"Draco Malfoy is not a good friend to have in your position. If the Dark Lord were to be made privy to your activities, he might make it a priority to attempt to exploit the boy for his own gain."

"Severus it's been ages since we've…"

He held up his hand to stop her, not wanting to hear more detail than necessary.

"I knew you would react this way. This is why I didn't tell you. You always do this! Like you've never had a weakness."

She was upset now, her face etched in indignation.

"Rose Lily stop this nonsense. I am merely concerned for your wellbeing.

"You're so bloody concerned that you forget to listen sometimes. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed about sleeping with Draco, but I am for hiding it. I am so fucking angry at myself for keeping it a secret from Ced. He died thinking that I was faithful to him, and I gave him so much grief over Meadow when really I was with someone else the whole damn time!" Guilty tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

He nodded. They had reached the root of the issue. She was clinging to him again without needing a prompt, her body shaking with grief.

"None of this was your fault child." He rubbed her back.

"But I still kept if from him. He was so sweet to me, and he loved me, and I treated him like garbage. I feel like a monster."

Severus had to hold back a snort. This poor innocent child, his Rose, thought that she was a monster for cheating on her boyfriend.

"Rose, you are not yet fifteen years old. You are allowed to commit errors in judgement. You are not a monster. You have been forced to grow up exceptionally fast within the past few years, but that does not make you an adult. You have not killed anyone and you're doing no harm to anyone but yourself."

The girl let out another sob and clung tighter onto him.

"I should've cared more about that stupid tournament. I waited for him. I saw the cup first and I waited like ten whole minutes for him so that he could take that bloody cup. I just wanted him to be happy."

"You had no way of knowing that any of that was about to happen."

"But I knew there was something off with Moody. He was so awful. The night before the task he was being so creepy and maybe if I'd told you or said something then someone would've figured it out."

"Rose, no excuse for why you are culpable is going to make me believe that you could have done anything to prevent what happened. As I said before, you are a child, and those closest to you should have been more observant. You are not to blame."

"Are you sure?" She looked up at him, her wide emerald eyes piercing his soul.

"Undoubtedly. The death eaters, the Dark Lord, they are the monsters."

"Do you really think they're all monsters? Aren't any of them just scared? From what I understand, you can't just back out of being a death eater."

Her attempts at reason were so naïve but incredibly charming all the same. He pursed his lips.

"Actions have consequences Rose, and those who regret joining the cause once believed in it. The must lie in their beds and accept the penance."

Rosie frowned. Severus was definitely talking about himself without talking about himself. She was feeling brave after her cry and decided to ask one of the questions that had been eating away at her since she found out about Severus' war-time affiliations.

"Sir… why did you become a death eater?"

He stiffened, but she had expected that reaction.

"You don't have to say." She exhaled softly.

"I became a death eater Rose because I was selfish and so desperately addicted to the dark arts as an outlet to release my inconsequential teenage angst."

She pondered that for a moment and then asked,

"Did you believe all the stuff about muggles, and muggleborns?"

"I was swept up in the mania for a time, yes."

"Is that why you and my mom stopped being friends? Because she was muggleborn?"

Rose was definitely towing the line with her guardian at that point, but once she got one question out, it was hard to quell the rest of them.

"In part." Was all that he replied, and she knew that the conversation was over then.

"I don't think you're a monster." She whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder once more.

"I know child."

When Severus dropped her back at Grimmauld place that afternoon, it was empty. He offered to stay to keep her company, but she'd told him to go. Rosie knew he had left a few things brewing. Besides, she figured that Sirius and Moony were just off packing or buying something to make their horrible new house a little bit more tolerable.

Rose busied herself making lunch. She was halfway done when the house elf, Kreacher ambled into the kitchen with the pretense of cleaning.

"Hey Kreacher." She greeted him.

The elf turned slowly to face her and began to mutter.

"Master's whore has spoken to Kreacher. Kreacher wonders if he is required to respond."

"Er, nevermind then." She rubbed her neck. "I made extra food, if you want some." Rosie offered, serving a smaller bowl of soup and half a sandwich onto a plate and setting it next to hers.

"Master's whore has offered for Kreacher to sit at the table. She has given him food. Kreacher wonders if she is a mudblood."

"Oh my god. Enough. I am not Sirius' whore. I'm Rose. All I'm doing is offering you food."

"Kreacher has never eaten with a witch before."

"Well be my guest." She motioned towards the plate.

"Kreacher is a servant in the most noble house of Black, not a guest."

"Fine, then don't be my guest. Good lord, just eat or don't eat the food, but it's there if you want it."

"Kreacher wants it." He squinted up at her.

"Good then." She nodded promptly.

The decrepit being climbed slowly up onto the chair next to Rose and began to eat. He chewed so slowly that she thought he might be liquifying the sandwich, but she considered it a win.

"So Kreacher, what have you been up to today?"

"Kreacher has been cleaning."

"Where did you clean?"

"The mudblood suspects that Kreacher is not performing his duties."

"I didn't say that! I'm just trying to make conversation."

The elf stared up at her again, his tennis ball-sized eyes never blinking.

"Kreacher cleans Master Regulus' room every day."

"Regulus? Did you like him?"

"Oh, Kreacher liked Master Regulus yes. Kreacher would have died for his most noble master, only his master would not allow it."

The little thing's eyes began to water, and Rosie figured she'd better shut up before he began to cry.

They ate in silence, and it wasn't long before she heard the door swing open and crash against the wall. The painting of Sirius' mother began to wail again and Kreacher stood up beside her and vanished his dishes with a snap of his fingers.

"My poor mistress." He muttered again as the portrait was silenced.

When Moony and Sirius walked into the room, her ex-godfather's eyes immediately went to the house elf.

"Kreacher, away with you." Siri ordered, pointing towards the cupboard where the thing slept.

"Kreacher's master has instructed him to leave. Kreacher bids farewell to the mudblood."

"Er, by Kreacher. Have a nice day."

Siri was staring at her now. She put up her hands defensively. "We're working on the relationship. I just got him to stop calling me your whore."

"I'm sorry Prongslet." He frowned.

"It's fine, really. What were you guys up to?"

"We might have been shopping for some early birthday presents for someone." Moony smiled his most evil smile, which was actually just adorable.

"Now that I can get behind. I'm sorry I didn't know you'd be back, so I only made enough lunch for me."

"We ate already sweet pea. How was your time with Severus? He wasn't upset with you, was he?"

"Nah, just you guys, but what's new? We started practicing more occlumency though."

"How'd that go? Are you picking it up?" Siri asked curiously.

"I blocked him once, but only because he was encroaching on some undesirable territory that may or may not have to do with the events at the world cup."

"Did he get a good look?" The ex-con cringed for her.

"Yup. That was a fun talk." She blushed.

Moony raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me darling Godfather, you don't want to know." Rosie kissed his cheek.

The three of them spent the afternoon cleaning and decorating, but after hours of work they still had barely made a dent in the disaster.

Before bed that evening, Rose snuck into Sirius' mother's room and retrieved a picture of Regulus in a silver frame. She stuck it behind the door of Kreacher's cupboard, which was empty. Rosie was determined that she would win over the odd little elf. Perhaps, he'd even start using her name.


	87. Chapter 87

It was the first full night that the trio would spend at Grimmauld place, and Rosie had called dibs on Sirius' old room, not that there was much to call, because Sirius didn't want it. He said that it felt wrong. Rose was happy to take it off his hands. Siri took the room next door to the left, and Moony took one two doors down to the right. She'd changed a few of the decorations in the new old room but had left the Gryffindor paraphernalia, the picture of the marauders and the muggle calendar, because it was under a permanent sticking charm. Around the room she hung pictures of she and Sirius, Moony, Severus, her friends, and on the nightstand, she left a picture of herself and Cedric taken before the third task.

It was only around midnight, and Rosie was just getting ready to go to sleep when she heard noises from the other room. At first, she thought it was Kreacher, but the soft sound turned into one of distress, and before she knew it, Rose was opening her door and sneaking down the hall.

Sirius was thrashing in his bed. She knew that he often had nightmares, but she'd never heard or seen them before. Her ex-godfather bare chest was covered in a dewy sheen of sweat and his fists were clenched as he twisted and rolled himself in the blanket. Rosie wasn't sure if she should wake him or not, but in the end, she reasoned that she would prefer to be woken up so, with the utmost care, she crept over the side of his bed.

"Siri." Rosie hissed, pushing lightly on his arm.

She repeated the action several more time, each time stronger than the last until he sprung up. Sirius sat up with such a force that he almost knocked her down off the spot where she was perched. His eyes were wild, and his breath came out in heavy pants. He blinked a few times and looked at her, his teeth beginning to chatter. Rosie had never seen the man so vulnerable. His whole body shook with the force of some mysterious cold that was only known to him. Siri barely even seemed to register her presence.

Rosie hadn't been sure what to do until he had begun to shiver. It must be some sort of long term dementor exposure thing she reasoned.

Calmly, Rose reached out for his wand, took it lightly in her hand and cast the patronus charm. She used the memory of jumping off the ledge at Cassius Point.

The silver bat sprung from his wand and began to circle the room. She aimed it towards Sirius and right through him. Typically, it was considered rude to aim a spell at someone with their own wand, but the ex-con didn't seem to mind. He lay back down wordlessly and stared at her for a moment, the shaking receding until he was fighting sleep once again. Rosie lingered with the patronus a few more moments just to make sure, and then she returned his wand to the bedside and crept back towards her new old room.

She woke up late the next day. Moony was already downstairs making breakfast.

"Morning princess." He greeted her, smiling serenely from where he stood.

"Morning." She yawned, sitting down at the table.

"I thought we might cook something together for the order meeting tonight. What do you think? I've already sent a message to Molly to tell her that we'll have dinner ready."

Rosie smiled. She loved her godfather.

Siri stumbled down the stairs about a half an hour later. Moony had his head bent over the paper and Rose had been cleaning up. She smiled at the man, and he smiled back but she couldn't help but notice the pink tinge in his cheeks and the uncomfortable avoidance of her eyes.

That was ridiculous. Rosie had spent the last few weeks crying at every person who'd tried to talk to her. Sirius couldn't possibly be embarrassed for having a nightmare. She sighed and smiled softly. Men were so confusing. Rose was looking forward to seeing her friends that evening. She almost didn't want to sit in on the order meeting, but the problem was, that she was stubborn out of her mind and didn't want to back down from Molly Weasley's attempts to shut her out.

It wasn't that she didn't have any affection for the Weasley matriarch. Afterall, the woman had taken her in. It was just slightly confusing to Rose. How could they keep information about Voldemort from Rosie when she was the one who was supposed to kill him? Not that the rest of the order knew about that part, but even so, the freaking Dark Lord had just tried to murder her personally a few weeks previous.

If Severus, the most overprotective git in the history of both muggle and magical worlds didn't have a problem with it, then Mrs. Weasley shouldn't either.

The breakfast conversation turned to the house cleaning once again, and nobody could figure out how to get into the attic room to begin tidying it. Rosie had an idea.

"Kreacher?" She called softly, causing Sirius to look up, startled as the house elf popped into view.

"Mistress Rose is needing Kreacher?" The elf squinted up at her.

She had to stifle her shock at being called by her given name.

"Er, yes sorry to bother you Kreacher, but we were just wondering how to open the attic door to clean inside. It seems to be spelled shut."

The elf stared up at her.

"Kreacher will clean the attic."

"You will?" She clarified.

"Kreacher will do anything that his most noble and respected Mistress desires of him." He bowed low, nose almost touching the floor.

With that, and the snap of his wrinkled fingers, the little elf popped away.

The two men were staring at her, open mouthed.

"What did you do to him?" Sirius asked, brows furrowing.

"I was nice. You should try it some time." She stuck her tongue out and Siri glared.

"No, honestly Prongslet, how'd you get him to listen to you?"

Rosie bit her lip. "It's Regulus Siri. Regulus is the key to Kreacher. He's obsessed with him. I just played into that."

"What do you mean played into it? I don't want you getting involved Rose." He seemed almost angry.

"Relax Siri, you don't have to worry about it. I'm just trying to make things easier."

"Well don't. Ok? Don't go meddling in what you don't understand."

"Woah. Down boy. I am free to do what I please. I live here too you know."

"Fine. Do whatever the fuck you want." He growled, slamming his hand down on the table and storming out, leaving Rosie stunned.

Moony reached out towards her. "Honey, he's just really not happy to be here." Her guardian tried.

Rosie raised her hands up defensively. "It's fine. I get it. I'll just go fuck myself. Let me know when you want to start dinner." She pushed back from the table, ignoring Moony's call after her.

Rose stayed upstairs in her room all day wallowing in her own misery. She went through a long and torturous mental cycle beginning with Lockhart's hands all over her body and ending with Cedric's lifeless eyes staring up at her. Rose didn't understand why Sirius was being such a dick. All she wanted was to make things better.

Moony didn't come upstairs to ask if she wanted to help prepare dinner. Nobody came to see her until Severus arrived for the order meeting. He knocked lightly and then let himself in.

"Rose. Would you like to attend the meeting?"

She didn't speak but stood up slowly and slumped over to him. Rosie buried her face into his cloak in a hug and then pulled away silently, heading towards the stairs.

Most of the order members were in the kitchen already minus the Weasleys, and Rose took a seat next to Severus again. Sirius didn't look at her as she came in and Moony was in the kitchen speaking with the auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, a tall handsome dark-skinned man.

Rosie leaned against Severus and waited, closing her eyes. When the Weasleys arrived, Moony levitated plates of food towards them all. He'd made some sort of stir-fry. Her guardian came in after that and kissed her head softly.

"I'm sorry princess." He hummed in her ear, before taking a seat next to Kingsley across the table.

The attractive auror was looking at her and when she met his eye, he smiled. Rosie smiled back even though she was in a bad mood and Moony looked at her. His eyes seemed to bleed apologies. She couldn't stay mad at the werewolf; he already knew that.

Sirius was rubbing his temples at the head of the table.

A fight broke out between Mrs. Weasley and the twins, who were adamant on joining the order now that they were of age. In the end, Molly conceded, as there wasn't much else for her to do, but Ginny and Ron were forced to leave. She'd tell them what happened later.

When Dumbledore arrived, after dinner, the meeting began without much nonsense. The prophecy was mentioned for the first time, as well as the first line that was known to Voldemort. She felt the weight of the collective stare on her as soon as that was mentioned. Moony seemed to be worried that she would fall apart, and Sirius had even lifted his head to look at her. Rose just bit her lip and nestled further into Severus' shoulder. She jumped when Moody began to speak and forgot to listen to what he said.

A copy of the prophet was laid down on the table as Severus discussed Voldemort's attempts to discredit herself and the Headmaster again. The front-page picture was of her crying over top of Cedric's dead body, fresh out of the maze. Rosie had to look away and the potion's master stroked her arm.

The headline read, _"Girl Who Lied? Is Dumbledore wrong to trust Rose Potter?"_

Supposedly the article contained speculation that she had been hallucinating, perhaps bewitched or on drugs, and that Voldemort had not returned. It also called into speculation that maybe she was too mentally unstable after being sexually abused for so long, and that she might be doing all of this as a plea for attention.

Rosie didn't read it. Severus had suggested that she not.

Each member of the order was assigned a shift of guard duty, minus Rosie, the twins, and Severus, to watch over the hall of prophecies and prevent any attempts to steal Rosie's prophecy. She didn't like that. It put both Moony and Siri in danger once a week. That, on top of her guardian's shifts at the store, meant that she would barely ever see him in the evenings now.

She would prefer they all just shared money in exchange for Moony being home with her, but he wouldn't have it. He was too bloody proud. Besides, it made him happy to buy her things. Rose understood, but she also didn't want to spend every evening alone with the brooding Black heir. She hoped that he'd snap out of the funk soon. In the meantime, she'd have to find a way to cheer him up like he'd done for her. Apparently, getting Kreacher on their side was not the way.

After the meeting was adjourned, Kingsley came over with Moony to speak with her. Rosie looked up at Severus who just glared at the auror.

"Miss. Potter, wonderful to meet you." He smiled widely, holding out a hand. His accent was deep and throaty.

She took it, glancing at her godfather, who grinned. "Nice to meet you too Sir. You can call me Rose though."

"That's kind of you, Rose. I actually have a message for you, but it is of a delicate nature."

"Oh, okay… It's fine, you can tell me here." She leaned on Severus' shoulder again.

"Yes, alright, well, Amos Diggory has been in contact with me. He has asked for the opportunity to meet with you, if you would be so inclined."

Rosie cringed. "Er…did he seem like he wanted to yell at me?"

Kingsley made a face. "I do not believe so no Rose. I think he just wants to speak with someone who was close with his son."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Tell him I'll meet with him. I want Sirius to go with me though, so he'll have to agree to that."

"I'm sure Padfoot would be more than happy to go with you sweet pea." Moony touched her shoulder.

"I know. I meant Mr. Diggory. He doesn't like Sirius, or me really."

Kingsley left, promising to owl her a time and place for her to meet Ced's father. Sirius was still avoiding her. Rosie said goodbye to Severus and made plans to see him on the full moon, which was in a few days. When he left, she went upstairs to find Ron and Ginny.

The siblings were sitting on her bed upstairs and Ron had the picture of her and Cedric in his hand. The picture was magical, and she leaned up to kiss his cheek. Amos had taken it.

"Hey guys." She greeted, wincing as Ron put the photo back quickly.

"Rose." Ginny smiled, coming forward to give her a big hug.

"Hey Gin. How's Dean?"

"He's good… I saw him the other day."

Rosie raised an eyebrow. "And were you guys able to use the lawnmower ok?"

That was their code for sex when Ron was around.

"Oh, well, we couldn't because he came over to the burrow, but I'm going to his place in a week and he promised to teach me then."

"Do you think the mower will start?" She asked.

"Yeah, we talked about it, and I think this time we'll try starting it slower, with a bit more time."

Ron was so lost until Ginny mentioned a last time.

"You've never been to Dean's house Gin; how could you have used the grass cutter?"

Rosie giggled and Ron's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh god. You're talking in girl code aren't you. No, gross, stop. Don't cut any grass. Cutting grass is bad."

"Oh Ron. Ginny is allowed to make choices for herself, just as you are with Hermione. How is she by the way?"

"I wish I knew. She's with her family on some trip where they attach sticks to their feet and slide down hills."

"Ah. She's gone skiing. Any word of when she'll be coming around?"

"Probably not till the end of July." He frowned.

Rose then started to tell them about the meeting. The first line of the prophecy and the guard duty at the ministry.

Later, when it was just she and Moony downstairs again he started to ask questions.

"Love, did you already know about the prophecy? I expected you to be more surprised."

"Yeah, the headmaster told me the full prophecy."

"He told you all of it?" Her guardian seemed wary.

She just nodded. "Mhm."

"Can I ask honey?"

"Um, yeah. I'll tell you, but not tonight, kay? I'll tell you and Siri when he's done hating me. I've just had enough Dark Lord for one evening."

"Alright my love. I get it." He agreed, and then he asked her a strange question.

"So, what did you think of Kingsley?"

Rosie's brows knitted together. "The auror?"

"Yeah, the auror." His tone was weird, and she had no idea why.

"Er… well he's majorly attractive, and he seems cool. Why?"

Moony chuckled. "No reason princess. Why don't you go on up to bed?"

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" She asked.

"Just from three to eight, yeah." He winked.

"Take me with you. I don't wanna be alone here with Siri."

"Why don't you guys go out somewhere? Maybe that'll get his mind off things."

Rosie sighed and nodded. "Fine, but find out when 'bring your kid to work day' is because I wanna see what you do all evening there."

He laughed and shook his head. "Goodnight my girl."

Rosie lay in her bed awake for way too long, probably because she'd spent the whole day in her room. It was around two in the morning before she even started to dose, and as luck would have it, that's when she heard it.

Somebody was scratching at her closed door. Kreacher wouldn't be weird like that, so Rosie assumed it was Padfoot. She aimed her wand at the door, and it sprung open, leaving a pathetic mass of black fur and regret staring at her from the hall.

She patted the bed beside her. "C'mon sweetie."

He did as he was told and jumped up on the bed. Rose noticed that the canine was trembling.

"Again, eh?" Rosie asked, giving him a look.

Padfoot just whimpered.

She cast the patronus again and laid back watching it fly around the room and pass over the pup, who instantly relaxed.

He stared up at her with those big puppy eyes and she let out a sigh.

"You're such a manipulator. You know I can't resist Padfoot." She patted his head.

"I'm still expecting an apology in the morning."

The dog rolled onto his back, legs in the air, and lolled out his tongue. This was Sirius' 'pet me' behavior.

She obliged, still glaring at him.

"You're such a git Sirius Black."

He fell asleep like that, sprawled out ridiculously and Rosie wondered if he used to do this to her father. She laughed as she conjured a vision of the dog sneaking into her father's dorm bed in Gryffindor tower, demanding to be paid attention to. Rose questioned briefly if they'd ever taken a picture of James in his animagus form. That was something she'd like to see. She made a mental note to ask Siri in the morning. He seemed to be feeling better, at least for the time being.


	88. Chapter 88

Sirius was not a dog the next morning when they woke up. He must have accidentally transformed back during the night. Instead of paws pressed up against her when she woke up, Rosie had her ex-godfather's arm sprawled across her body. She hoped that Severus wouldn't go looking for memories of Sirius again in their next occlumency lesson. He would definitely be mad about this.

Rosie sat up and pushed him off of her, stretching out her arm, which had gone numb from being crushed.

"Siri…" She whined.

He grumbled unintelligibly.

"Either transform again or go back to your room before Moony finds you like this." She shook him awake.

He opened his eyes and looked around, bringing his hand up to cover his face.

"Shit, Rosie, I'm sorry. I thought I was still a dog."

"It's fine, honest. I'd just prefer not to have to explain why you're shirtless in my bed." She patted his hair.

"Ugh. Yeah, you're definitely right." He made a face, getting up to leave.

"You can stay." She patted the end of the bed. "Just, be a dog again."

He yawned and nodded, transforming again and curling up at the foot of her bed. Rosie rolled over and went back to sleep.

Every night from that day forward Rose sent a patronus into Sirius' room just before he went to bed and the nightmares decreased. They didn't go away entirely, but he seemed to be sleeping better.

The day of the next full moon was coincidentally the day that Amos Diggory had requested that they meet. Sirius had agreed to go, and then he would drop her off with Severus afterwards. Ginny was going to come and have dinner with her and her guardian. She was the only one of her friends who would even dream of eating at the potions master's house, and probably the only one that Severus would allow.

Rosie dressed herself in all black to visit Mr. Diggory, her locket the only contrast. She left her hair long and brushed through it haphazardly. Rose wanted to appear ok, but not too ok, which was actually a pretty accurate description of her life at the moment.

In the sitting room, Moony was resting. He looked absolutely dreadful, and as usual, Rosie hated leaving him. She left some tea under a warming charm next to him and covered the man with a blanket. Rose took a moment to stroke his face and wish him well, warning him to be careful as she usually did. She left a note as well for when he woke up.

Sirius had to practically force her out of the house.

"Why don't you ever go with him?" Rosie asked as they stepped outside.

"I tried. He says he doesn't need Padfoot, y'know, because of the potion."

"You should go surprise him tonight. I bet he'd like it. Plus, then you won't be alone." She jabbed his arm lightly.

"Maybe love." He humored her, taking her arm and doing his little spin.

They landed outside of Cedric's house, which Rosie had never visited before. The outside reminded her very much of the cottage.

Amos heard the crack of the apparition and opened the door, smiling softly.

"Rose." He sighed and took her into his arms before she even realized what his intentions were.

The man clung to her like she was the most important person in the world, and she could feel his body shaking with silent tears. Rosie's heart hurt. She wrapped her arms around his body too and patted his back.

"Hi Mr. Diggory."

"Amos. Please call me Amos." He corrected her and Rose nodded.

When he pulled back, Sirius grimaced at her awkwardly and Amos directed them inside.

"Would you like anything? Tea, biscuits?"

"Sure, thank you Mr.… erm, Amos." She allowed.

As they settled in and got to talking, Rose realized that any bad blood or discomfort between them was forgotten by the man. Mr. Diggory seemed like he was very lonely.

"So, my dear, how have you been holding up?" He frowned, staring at her as though he was waiting for her to cry.

"Um, it's been pretty difficult." She admitted. "I have a lot of nightmares about what happened."

"I'm sorry to hear that. They've been taking good care of you at home though? Kingsley said that Remus there frets over you constantly."

Rosie was confused. Why would Moony tell that to the auror? When she looked at Siri, he just shook his head.

"Yeah, everyone's been really supportive at home. Not so much in the news though."

"Yes, it's bloody criminal what they're doing at the prophet office, making my boy's death out to be some sort of accident. It wasn't an accident Rose, right? Can you tell me what happened to my son? What were his last words?"

The man was positively desperate now.

Rose bit her lip and scooted closer to Sirius.

"No, it wasn`t an accident sir. It was Barty Crouch Jr. who did it. He…um died quickly though. It was the killing curse." She was trying to stop the shaking in her voice.

Amos nodded, closing his eyes.

"He wanted to win that damn cup so badly. He wanted me to take it, but I convinced him to take it together because I knew how proud you would've been." Her words cracked and she leaned her head on Sirius' shoulder.

Her ex-godfather slung his arm around her.

There were tears leaking out of Mr. Diggory's eyes now.

"Was he scared?" Amos whispered.

Rosie shook her head vigorously. "No. I was terrified out of my mind, but Ced wasn't scared. I don't think he really realized… but he stepped right in front of me, refused to leave my side."

"He's a good boy, my Ced."

"Yeah. He was really good sir. He was so kind, and gentle. He was always looking out for me."

They continued sharing positive traits and stories about Cedric until it started to hurt less. They even got a few laughs in. Rosie didn't mention anything about stupid Meadow, or the fighting, or anything of the sort. Those were her memories, and they didn't make his death hurt any less, but they also helped her to put things into perspective, a perspective that Amos Diggory didn't need.

He offered to show Rose Cedric's room and she nearly stopped breathing. It was simple, but so very him. The head boy badge was displayed on the wall along with the prefect's one. He had a picture of them together at the summer party before disaster struck, and a Hufflepuff banner hung above the bed.

Amos went over to the dresser on the other side of the room and opened it. He pulled out Ced's quidditch jersey and handed it to her.

"He'd want you to have this. He always talked about how amazing you are at quidditch."

Rosie took it, and before she could stop herself, and even though it was kinda weird, she brought it up to her face and inhaled.

Sweet cologne and herbs.

She let out a sob.

"S…sorry. I'm so sorry." Rosie sucked in a deep breath and Siri's hands closed around her upper arms from behind.

Amos rubbed at his eyes again when she started to get emotional.

They'd been there a few hours when the visit began to peter out and Rosie excused them. Cedric's dad nearly pleaded with her to come back again, and she had agreed, telling him to send her an owl. She'd offered him the thousand galleon prize money from the tournament, but he had refused. Rose didn't need it though, so she wondered what to do about that. There had to be some good cause to donate it to.

Sirius dropped her off at Severus' house and made sure to give her an extra long hug just to piss off the potion's master. Sometimes Rosie felt like she was a ball being tossed around by three very possessive men vying for her attention. It was like they all needed and wanted different things from her but hated if she gave anything to the other. Moony wasn't so bad, but Severus and Sirius were.

She supposed that there could be worse problems than having too many people to love. Rose had definitely experienced worse in her life.

Severus had decided to sneak in a little occlumency lesson before dinner, so that is how Rosie found herself in her current unfortunate position. She'd changed into Cedric's jersey and had Severus charm it so that the scent remained imbedded within it permanently. Then, she'd sat down to begin the lesson. This time, he went in looking specifically for memories of Draco.

Flashes of their conversations ran through her mind.

" _I bet it's because your scared shitless of your daddy."_

" _At least I don't want to fuck mine." He bit back and Rosie let out a hysterical laugh._

 _Next memory._

" _Relax Potter, I'm not going to force you." He said, lowering her arms down to her sides again._

 _Next memory._

" _What? You don't give head? Now I see Diggory's problem._

" _Go fuck yourself." She spat._

" _Aw, are you scared?" He teased, and she grimaced. "Oh shit, you actually are scared, aren't you?"_

Rosie pushed back and Severus was thrown from her mind.

He was rubbing his temples roughly, probably trying in vain to forget everything he'd just seen.

After a long moment of silence her guardian spoke. "I am astonished by your comfort in engaging with Mr. Malfoy in such a vulgar and demeaning fashion."

"Let's actually not talk about my disturbing sexual kinks." She suggested awkwardly.

Severus appeared ill.

"I got you out faster that time, right?"

"Indeed. You are improving." He was still white as a sheet.

The potion's master went into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey. He didn't normally drink around her. Her guardian must be really disturbed by her memories with Draco. Rose didn't blame him. She wondered if they would still be the same in the coming school year, or if the threat of the Dark Lord was too real for the Slytherin boy to continue.

Rosie cooked dinner that evening. She made pork chops with steamed veggies and wild rice. Aunt Petunia would be proud. Severus had finally calmed himself down after about two more drinks, but he fortunately, held his alcohol much better than Rose did. She couldn't even tell he'd been drinking.

Ginny arrived by floo just as she was putting the food onto plates. She was bright and chipper as per usual.

"Hi Rosie, Hi Professor Snape. Your home is very… organized." She smiled at Severus and held out a pie for Rose to take.

"Good evening Miss Weasley." He drawled, slipping easily into Professor mode.

The trio sat together at the table and began to eat.

"So, Rosie, are you thinking of what subjects you're going to keep taking after your OWLs?"

She snorted. "Did Percy pay you to ask me that? I haven't even thought about those stupid tests yet."

"It is important to achieve satisfactory OWL grades Rose." Severus glowered from his seat.

"I'm just not that good at magic." She retorted. "I'll probably do well in defense now because of Sirius and Moony, and I always do well in arithmancy, but other than that… I probably won't get into that many NEWT subjects."

"Well what about potions?" Ginny asked.

She had to stop herself from laughing.

"Yeah Severus, will you let me into your NEWT potions if I get a 'Troll' on my OWL exam?"

"Child, if you would simply apply yourself…" He began.

"Why? I live with a potions master."

Ginny giggled at their interaction.

"What is your career aspiration Miss. Weasley? I assume you possess one." Severus turned to her friend.

The redhead grinned. "I want to work in muggle relations like my dad."

He wrinkled his nose ever so slightly. "I see. Do you… enjoy muggles?"

"Oh yes very much so sir. I love all their silly inventions." She turned to Rosie now.

"Dean says he's going to take me out on these little shoes that have wheels attached to the bottom! Have you ever done that?"

Rose smiled. "Roller-skating. No, I was never allowed. You'll have to take pictures for me."

"Well, why don't you come?" Ginny suggested happily.

She swallowed heavily and shook her head. "No thank you. Sorry, I'm not going there."

"Dean lives in Little Whinging." Rosie filled Severus in. "I think I'd die if I ran into anyone I knew."

"Indeed. I would prefer you not return there." Her guardian concurred.

"Suit yourself. I'm not bringing you back any souvenirs though."

Rosie wondered what kind of things Ginny would consider souvenirs. Next thing she knew her friend's bedroom would be filled with plug sockets and electric toothbrushes.

"Who do you think this year's prefects will be?" Her friend changed the topic.

"Heads of houses pick prefects right Severus?"

The potions master nodded.

"Hmm. Well, I think you were going to pick Malfoy, but now you're probably not so sure, and maybe that Greengrass girl, or Tracey Davis. She's not so bad."

Severus just hummed noncommittally.

"For Gryffindor, obviously Hermione, and maybe, I don't know… I kinda think Ron or Dean."

"Ravenclaw is pretty obvious too." Ginny interjected, "Cho and Michael have it in the bag."

"That just leaves Hufflepuff." She frowned. "I only really know the NEWT level Hufflepuffs."

"What if you got made a prefect Rosie?"

She was shaking her head before the girl had even finished the question. "Nope nope nope. Professor McGonagall wouldn't pick me, for one. Two, there is no way in hell I'm taking orders from Meadow."

Severus watched her intently throughout the conversation. He seemed interested in her responses.

"Now, quidditch captain I could live with." Rosie giggled, but that wouldn't be till sixth year.

"Wasn't your dad the Gryffindor quidditch captain?"

"Yes, he was." She nodded, smiling.

Ginny was so annoyingly naïve sometimes when it came to the questions that she asked. Her friend didn't always think of the consequences of poorly thought out questions.

"Professor Snape, who do you think Rosie is more like? Her mother or her father?"

Severus didn't want to answer the question. Rose could tell.

"Rose is very like her mother; however, she does have Potter moments that make it astoundingly clear her parentage."

That was probably accurate.

After Ginny left that evening, Severus read to Rosie from one of his many potions books until she was so bored that she fell asleep on the couch. This often happened when she stayed at his house.

When the potion's master picked her up to bring her upstairs, she woke up again and started to squirm.

"Wait. Severus." Rosie wriggled out of his grasp and back onto the couch rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Yes Rose?"

"Is it possible to send a patronus to a different place? Like to send a message?"

"It is. Why do you ask?"

"I want to send one. How do you do it?"

Her guardian sighed. "You must first conjure your patronus, speak the message to it, and then flick your wand while directing it in your mind where to go."

Rosie nodded tiredly. She cast the charm and her silvery bat sprung forth from the wand.

She held it in front of her, looked it in the face and said, "Have a good sleep. See you tomorrow." Then she closed her eyes, pictured Sirius' bedroom clearly in her mind, and flicked her wand.

The bat disappeared.

Severus stared at her, obviously confused.

"I send Sirius a patronus every night. It helps him sleep." She reasoned.

Her guardian wrinkled his nose. "Come along child." He directed, leading her up to bed.

That night, Rosie dreamed of the long hallway again. She moved through it slowly, a strange longing in her heart to reach the large ornate door at the end. She yearned to open it.

When she awoke, her scar hurt. It didn't bleed, but it ached all the same.

As was usual the morning after a full moon, Rose flooed home early to help Moony. To her surprise, Sirius was already awake and making breakfast. He never made breakfast.

When the man caught sight of her he smiled so widely she thought his face might break and pulled her into a bear hug.

"You are the sweetest, most wonderful, kindest girl Prongslet." He enthused, crushing her body.

"Thanks Siri." She squeaked, patting his back.

She was upstairs helping Moony get dressed when Dumbledore appeared in the house and called for them all to congregate in the living room. Rosie helped the werewolf down the stairs and laid him on the couch, tucking a blanket around his heavy form.

"What's wrong Headmaster?" Rose asked, and Sirius frowned at him.

"I'm afraid that there is some bad news. There was a dementor attack in Little Whinging last night."

Her eyes widened. "Oh no. Is Dean ok? Are his parents?"

Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her. "Mr. Thomas was not affected."

Rosie's face contorted in confusion. "What happened then?" She asked carefully.

"Your aunt and uncle's house was attacked Rose."

"Oh." She replied, sitting down. "Well, are they ok?"

Moony was trying to sit up now.

"Yes. The auror's were alerted on time due to an order member in charge of surveilling the area. However, it has come to my attention that further attacks may occur if your family is permitted to stay on Privet Drive."

"Alright… so they have to move then. Petunia will be happy. She always hated Surrey."

"Indeed, my girl. However, in the meantime, whilst I locate a safe residence for your family to reside, I was hoping that you three might extend the invitation for them to stay here."

Rosie felt her chest tighten and her stomach do a flip. The professor wanted the Dursleys to come live with them.

She didn't speak, choosing to stare intently at the wall instead.

"For how long?" Moony asked tightly.

"Perhaps a week or two at most."

"Albus, I don't think…" Sirius began, but Rose interrupted.

"It's fine. It'll be fine." She stated coldly, getting up and moving towards the stairs.

It was definitely not fine.


	89. Chapter 89

Rosie stayed the night at Severus' the day the Dursleys arrived. She didn't want to be there to welcome them, and she didn't think they'd much care. Rose was a bit nervous about leaving her family at the mercy of her godfather and Sirius, but supposedly they were arriving late, so she hoped that Dumbledore would get them settled so that not much would have to be said from there on out.

In the morning, Rosie felt like she chose her clothes as a shield. She put on a large sweater and tights, leaving her hair long to hide her face. Fumbling nervously with her sleeve, Severus squeezed her shoulder in support. Her first guardian had been most unimpressed with Dumbledore's request. He couldn't keep her for her family's whole stay, and Rose didn't see much point in avoiding them for only a few days,

Stepping out of the fire at Grimmauld place, she was greeted that morning by Moony, who seemed to be waiting for her.

"Hi princess." He greeted softly, hovering. The werewolf was in a helicopter parenting mood.

Rosie cut right to the chase.

"How do they seem?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Not great sweet pea, but not horrible either. They recognized me right away, asked me why I didn't adopt you years ago."

"Of course they did." She sighed.

"Your cousin asked where you were. I said that you were at your other guardian's house for the night and that you'd be back in the morning."

She nodded and sat down at the table, fidgeting awkwardly, waiting for the inevitable interaction.

"Do you have to work today?"

Moony sighed, looking her over with concern-filled eyes.

"No." He said finally. He was lying.

"Moony. Don't you dare lose your job for me."

"Honey, I'll stay. Sirius has guard duty tonight, and neither of us are willing to leave you alone here with _them_."

She shrugged, trying to play it off. "Just ask Severus to come by, or someone else from the order. I'll be alright. Honest."

"My love…" He started but was cut off by someone clearing their throat.

Rosie spun around and came face to face for the first time in almost three years with her Uncle Vernon. He looked exactly the same, huge and red. His hairline was beginning to recede, and his eyes were beady and suspicious.

He nodded to her in greeting. "Potter."

"Hello Uncle Vernon." She said softly, feeling like a little girl again.

"What is there to eat around here?" He grunted, staring at her guardian.

Rosie stood up. "Sit. I'll get you something."

He did so. Moony watched as she made plates for her uncle, aunt and cousin, pulling out her wand and casting a heating charm on the two for later.

She levitated the first plate towards her uncle whose eyes went wide.

"I thought you weren't allowed to do that freaky stuff outside of school." He gripped the table.

"I'm not, but adult wizards live in this house too, and so the ministry can't tell who is performing the magic."

That made her uncle squirm uncomfortably, but Rose didn't have the energy to feel satisfied.

"Darling, why don't you go up and wake Sirius? I can finish up down here." Her guardian suggested from behind.

Rosie's uncle watched them interact with a strange, focused tension.

She nodded and made her escape, climbing the stairs and praying that she didn't run into anyone else in the hall.

Siri was still asleep and even though Rose knew that she shouldn't, she crawled into the bed with him.

She wasn't trying to be creepy. Really, Rosie just wanted to bury under the covers and hide forever. Slipping beneath the blanket, she curled herself into Sirius' chest and pressed her face into his shoulder. He was wearing a shirt, so it wasn't that bad Rose reasoned. Before she knew it, and encircled in warmth, she fell asleep again.

Sirius tried to shift himself in bed, stretching out an arm, but he was prevented from moving. Something…actually, somebody was blocking his way. He didn't even have to open his eyes to realize that Rosie was next to him. It had been almost an immeasurably long time since the ex-con had woken up with someone in his bed like this, and the situation was one hundred percent different.

Rose's eyes were shut, and her petal pink lips parted so slightly that she didn't even appear to be breathing. Her dark hair fanned out across the pillow behind her, and her fingers were knotted in his t-shirt. Sirius took a moment to marvel at the change that had taken place over the past year. Rosie had hated him, in every sense of the word from their very first meeting. She'd despised even the thought of him. He had been sure that Remus and Snape had filled the only slots available for men in Rose's life, but apparently, she had found room.

It would be impossible to describe their relationship. They fought, more than necessary. Sirius had no idea what it was about this girl that infuriated him so exponentially. He was ashamed to admit that most of the time, he just could not control the anger, the fire that she incited in his chest. It wasn't her fault. She had practically been born confrontational.

The tiny baby he'd held so long ago had defeated a Dark Lord. She'd been through so much that it was almost a miracle that Rose herself wasn't dark. That, in combination with his own confrontational nature meant that moments like these, where she sought him out for comfort were all the more precious.

She was precious. James would be so proud of her, and yet so often now, Sirius forgot to think about his best friend when he looked at her. Rosie looked like James, oh there was no denying that, and Lils. She had those pretty green eyes, but she was so unique, so individual, that it was hard to see anything but just Rose.

He knew that it was odd, their relationship. Sirius was not an idiot. She didn't seek him out in the way she sought out Remus, or Snape. In those moments, Rosie acted like a little girl. She would look up at the greasy bat with hideous admiration, but still, Snivellus was unpredictable to her. Rose tended to Remus with such a kind charm and in return he provided her with the safety of a constant father figure.

With Sirius, she was different. He knew that during a hard time, he was the only one who could make her laugh. They used humor in the same way, to cover pain, and that kind of instinctual understanding had allowed her to gravitate even closer to him over the past few weeks. Those peals of happy laughter had kept him motivated to keep fighting in this war, to put his trust back into Albus Dumbledore, and to envision that the future might one day be peaceful again.

It was all for her. Everything that he had done since Azkaban had been for her, and he didn't like to think too long about why that was, or how strange that was. Rose understood him in a way that was both intuitive and taught. She knew exactly how to set him off and had known from the moment that she'd discovered his nightmares how to end them.

Still, there was an odd discomfort in being unable to identify the nature of their relationship. Sirius knew enough to know that she should not come into his bed, and that he should not avoid waking up so that she could stay. He knew that she had issues with boundaries. How could she not? But still, it was hard for him to create those lines with her because, if he were being honest with himself, he did not want to.

Sirius was not selfless enough to forbid her from doing everything exactly as she wanted. Every bone in his body ached to please her. It was a different kind of emotion that he felt for Rosie Potter, but it wasn't impure, and he didn't think it was on her end either. It wasn't sexual.

He hated to even think about the girl in those terms. She was a child, and Sirius was well aware of that. What they desired from each other was closeness, intimacy that extended beyond the normal bounds of family but did not extend so far as to be inappropriate. He was no Gilderoy Lockhart.

It was not hard to guess why Rose had decided to hide out in his room that morning. Sirius had tried to hold back when the Dursleys had arrived the night before. Remus was much better at remaining calm and objective. Vernon Dursley, the mean drunk, as Rosie had so generously named him, pushed his way into the house as if he owned it, spouting off about magic and the woes of relocation. The woman, Lily's sister, was more reserved. Perhaps she was more aware of the position that they now found themselves in. Afterall, her family had so grossly mistreated little Rose, and now they were cohabitating with her in a setting in which she and her guardians were allowed to use magic.

The cousin was a mystery. He seemed almost enthusiastic to see the girl again, and Sirius wondered whether he intended to continue tormenting her or apologize.

He didn't know how long Rosie had been here with him, but if the sun streaming into the room was any indicator, he knew he ought to get her up before Remus came looking for them. His best friend often shared a bed with his goddaughter, but there was something inherently different about that. Moony was not interested in women, he'd never been, and least of all Rose. That was fairly common knowledge. With Sirius' history, and his lack of defined relationship with James' daughter, things could be misconstrued a lot quicker.

He sat himself up slowly, jostling Rosie along with him. Her breathing hitched and she fought consciousness. She didn't want to wake up.

"Morning sleeping beauty." He chuckled, nudging her until her eyes fluttered open.

"Siri? Damn it. I didn't mean to fall asleep." She blushed softly.

"It's fine Prongslet." Sirius smirked, "but maybe we should make an appearance downstairs, yeah?"

She nodded, but her body tensed, and the light dimmed in her eyes.

"Hey." He caught her chin with his fingers. "I know. Ok? I get it. But you've gotta show them that you're better off without them."

Sirius hooked his arm in hers and lead her down the stairs. As they descended, he stuck out his foot in front of her and she tripped, falling forward until he reached out and caught her.

Rosie screeched and then threw her head back and started to laugh. The sound was musical.

"You're such a git Sirius Black." She shook her head.

He loved it when she said that. It meant that she was distracted from whatever was bothering her, and if he could do that for her, even for a moment. That would be enough.

Rosie tried to keep her head straight when she entered the kitchen again. Moony looked up from his paper and made eye contact with Siri behind her.

Her whole family was sitting together at the table. Vernon kept his gaze down, but Aunt Petunia and Dudley looked up. Dudley was a lot bigger than he had been before. Her aunt stood up immediately and circled the table towards her.

"Rose." She breathed, reaching out to grasp onto her hand.

She bristled at the contact but didn't pull away.

"Er, Hi." Rosie responded awkwardly.

"You're so grown up." The words tumbled out fast, like she wasn't sure she wanted to say them.

"Um, yup. That's what happens I guess."

"I… Well, I hope we get the chance to talk." Aunt Petunia said. "When they said that you weren't coming back again, well, I assumed that something bad had happened to you."

Rose felt indignation pool in her belly. "Yeah. A lot of bad things have happened to me, but I don't need to talk about them with you."

Moony didn't even reprimand her for her tone.

"Don't you dare speak to your aunt like that girl." Vernon lifted his head and growled. Rosie felt herself cringe involuntarily.

Her guardian stood up and put his paper down. "Alright. Let's take a break."

Then, he looked to her uncle.

"We use names to address each other here. Mine is Remus. This is Sirius." He motioned to Siri, "And that, is Rose."

"You dare address me. I raised this bloody girl from a baby. There's only one way to handle a little tramp like her and that's with a hard hand." He clenched his fist firmly.

Rosie closed her eyes and exhaled.

"Vernon." Petunia hissed, just as Siri began to finger his wand.

"I think I'll just go back to Severus' flat." She announced weakly.

"Severus?" Her aunt turned to look at her again.

"Yes. Severus. My other guardian. Would you like to come? I'm sure he'd be just thrilled to see you again" Rosie glared.

Moony motioned her over to him, pulling her away.

"Princess. You don't have to leave. I'm gonna stay home. We can go out to the alley together, or go into muggle London, anything you want, but you don't have to feel unwelcome because of your relatives."

This was Moony asking for something, and he so very rarely asked anything of her, but today he didn't want her to go.

"Is Severus ok?" She asked nervously.

"Oh, sweet pea. Yes, he's fine. It's not that. I just would really like to spend the day with you. Sirius can come, and the auror, Kingsley, has agreed to come too to help keep you safe. Your family can stay here."

Rosie scrunched up her face. She didn't know they needed an auror to be able to go out shopping, but Moony's eyes were full of hope and it wasn't like she ever had a chance of refusing that. They may all be wrapped around her finger, but Rose wasn't immune to her godfather's particular kind of persuasion.

"Ok. Alright. That sounds nice." Rose conceded and the werewolf broke out into a grin.

"Thank you honey." He kissed her forehead.

The two returned to the kitchen and Rosie picked up Moony's paper and began to survey the damage. There was nothing new, and no news about any death eater attacks. The ministry was still attacking Dumbledore, and there were only so many times that they could print articles about her disturbed nature before it got old.

"The pictures move." A voice cut through the silence quietly from across the table.

It was Dudley. Until now, the boy hadn't spoken.

For the amount of times that her cousin had hit her, held her to the ground, pulled her hair, and called her names, Rosie still didn't flinch at his voice the way she did with Uncle Vernon. Perhaps it was because he was her age. She remembered vaguely a conversation about forgiveness with Severus, and how she'd used Dudley as an example of somebody she thought she could eventually forgive.

Rose inhaled, pursing her lips. "Yes, they do move." She answered him.

"Rose, Sirius, and I are going to be taking a trip into the Alley today. We'll be leaving in roughly an hour and spending most of the day away. You are welcome to any food in the house, but we do ask that any locked doors remain closed, as there are still many dangerous enchantments placed on the house." Moony announced.

Dudley seemed disappointed, almost like he'd wanted to go too, but Rosie was not ready yet for outings with her estranged and violent cousin.

Kingsley arrived about forty minutes later and smiled at Moony who grinned back. Rose was ashamed to admit that she hadn't paid enough attention to her godfather's habits to notice how his friendship with the auror had grown over the past few weeks. On top of that, Sirius had smirked at her and winked, and she wasn't sure why.

Moony noticed the look on her face and held back as they left, holding out his arm out for her to apparate with him instead of Siri.

She took it and smiled. They all landed together outside of a pub in the middle of Diagon Alley. This would be the first time that Rosie had gone out in public since the prophet had begun to attack her and the headmaster.

Sirius suggested they get lunch and Kingsley agreed enthusiastically. Rose slid into the booth next to her godfather and Siri sat with the auror. They ordered and then Kingsley started to ask her questions. It was sort of odd. She wasn't sure why the man had such an interest in getting to know her.

"So, Rose, are you happy to be off school for a while?" He asked.

She nodded. "I always love spending holidays with Moony."

"Moony? What does that mean?" He turned to ask the werewolf.

"It's a school nickname that Sirius and James always called me. It's how I introduced myself to Rosie when she was a little girl."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever called you Remus." She teased.

"Ah. So how long have you lived with Remus then Rose?" He seemed confused.

"Oh. I grew up with my aunt and uncle, the ones in the kitchen back at the house." Rosie turned up her nose. "But since my second year Severus and Moony have kind of been sharing me."

"I see. What was so special about your second year?"

Rose cringed visibly and so did Moony.

Sirius coughed awkwardly. "Don't tell me you kept your head out of the paper all of last summer Kingsley."

Realization dawned on the man's face and he turned to her. "I am very sorry for my ignorance. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok, don't worry about it." She flushed, and Moony rubbed her arm.

Sirius reached over and tapped her shoulder playfully. "Yeah Rosie's a real handful. That's why we have Snape. Remus here isn't really the dominant type."

Her godfather choked on his pumpkin juice and Rosie patted his back, startled. Had Siri meant to make that sound so provocative? Apparently, he had, because he was barely able to contain his mirth.

Rose tried to bring down the tension. "Yeah, Moony doesn't do discipline. Severus makes me brew potions for hours and hours if I piss him off."

"You must be very good at brewing now." Kingsley added.

"Abysmal actually. If you ask a professional." She giggled.

"So, what does Remus here do when he's mad?" The auror's eyes flashed with humor.

Sirius interrupted again. "Angry Remus is an oxymoron. It doesn't exist. He's a very gentle soul." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Rosie was so bloody confused. She didn't understand Siri's angle. Moony kicked him under the table and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, which only added to her confusion.

"Where do you want to go first my love?" He coaxed her into a new topic.

They went all over the alley. Her godfather was in a strange mood, almost like he felt guilty for something. Maybe it was for allowing the Dursleys to stay. He tried to buy her everything she looked at, but Rose stopped him, stating that all she wanted was to spend time with him.

They were in Flourish and Blotts when Rosie felt a hand come around her waist and pull her behind the empty staircase.

It was Malfoy.

"Hey Potter." He leaned in close to her, his breath minty.

Rose laughed. "Malfoy, do you have to be so dramatic? Is it really that terrible for you to just talk to me out in the open?"

"If I don't want the fucking Dark Lord on my ass about you, yes."

Her eyes widened. Severus had said that might happen. "Shit. That's rough."

"Yeah well. Not as rough as you had it. You looked fucking possessed coming outta that maze with Diggory's body. Hot, but messed up."

"Don't." She clenched her teeth.

"Yeah, that was rude, sorry." He rubbed his face and the brought his hands back down to her waist, pressing his forehead to hers.

"For what it's worth. I'm really sorry about what happened." Draco sighed.

"It's not your fault Malfoy. Your fucking father, now he's a different story."

"If I'm not talking about Diggory, you're not talking about my father."

"Fair enough." She sighed, closing the gap between them.

His lips were rough against hers, but his tongue was smooth, seeking entrance into her mouth as he ran his hand up her torso to rest on the side of her breast.

Rosie let out a soft moan of pleasure. It'd been too long since she'd been kissed like this. His teeth grazed her lower lip and her back arched into him.

The moment was interrupted all too soon by the furious face of her ex-godfather. He took one looked at what she was doing and turned around, covering his eyes.

"Get off of each other. This is a bloody bookstore." He growled.

Malfoy pulled away and winked at her.

"I found her Remus." Siri hissed to her guardian on the other side of the store.

He grabbed onto her arm with just a touch more force than necessary and began to drag her away. Malfoy smirked.

"Till next time Potter." He called after her.

"You are bloody impossible." Sirius barked at her. "Do you have no regard for your own life? How about how freaked out poor Remus'd be if you suddenly disappeared?"

She didn't even bother apologizing to Siri. He wouldn't care at that point.

Moony cupped her face in his hands when he saw her being led back by Sirius and sighed.

"Sweet pea, if you need to go somewhere just ask. It's dangerous to run around on your own right now."

Kingsley stood back with his large arms crossed.

"I'm sorry Moony. I should've told you."

The werewolf forgave her, as he usually did, and they carried on with their day. Though, Sirius did pull her aside later when he'd calmed down to request that she not run off on them again.

"Love, I don't give a shit if you make me stand there with my back to you while you snog that piece of trash death eater kid. Just don't go off alone next time, especially to meet him."

The evening, when they arrived back at Grimmauld, the Dursleys were nowhere to be seen. Kingsley left, and Rosie said goodnight to Moony and to Sirius and then went up to her room, leaving the men in the kitchen.

She had turned the doorknob and stepped inside but as soon as she did so, Rosie's heart stopped. There, sitting on her bed, was Aunt Petunia. She had a newspaper clipping in her hand and Rose guessed pretty quickly which one it was.

 _Rose Potter, justice served in the case against Gilderoy Lockhart._

She'd saved the clipping from the day of sentencing at her trial. The article summarized everything, and Rosie could tell that her aunt had read through it.

The woman looked up when she entered.

"This is why you never came back?" She asked, holding up the paper.

"Professor Dumbledore and Severus decided that they didn't want to add suffering onto suffering that summer." Rose stated coldly, still in the doorframe.

"It's all true then. You were really raped by your professor?"

A shiver coursed through her spine. "Yes. For months."

"Why didn't you… Why didn't you say anything? Surely somebody would've stopped him…"

Her aunt seemed to be trying to process the information.

"If you read the article, you would know that he used a charm to erase my memory each time." She crossed her arms tightly.

"But… you didn't have any symptoms?"

Rosie let out a hysterical laugh. "Are you joking right now?"

Petunia looked up, startled.

"You think that after years of being told to keep quiet, being told that I deserved everything that you three did to me, that I would have the ability to seek help?"

"That is not that same." Her aunt stood up indignantly.

"It's not? Really? So, being scared out of telling my teachers that I live in a fucking storage cupboard isn't the same? What about being starved and told that if I got help, I'd be beat? What about that? How bout the bruises? I had the words 'I fell.' rehearsed in my mind so clearly that I'd repeat them in my sleep."

"Rose." Petunia whispered.

"No. You do not get to tell me what I should've done. We are who we're raised to be, and you raised me silent, and submissive. Don't you dare deny that now."

"I never meant…"

"Just get out." Rosie nearly shouted. "Get out and leave me the hell alone."

She slammed the door with her aunt on the other side and buried herself under the covers, the Lily bear clutched to her chest. Rose wanted her mom.


	90. Chapter 90

**AN- Hellos readers. I just wanted to make a little bit of a note on the topic of Sirius. I keep getting PMs, and the occasional angry review about the RoseXSirius pairing, and I just thought I'd write a little explanation as to why I chose to write the story this way, knowing that I would get fewer readers. To begin, I'm not actually sure why you would click on this story if you weren't ok with the pairing, as it is in the summary. Also, this is fanfiction, the lines of depravity have been crossed in much wider bounds already lol.**

 **However, if you are generally concerned for Rosie's wellbeing, this is the explanation. I chose to pair her with Sirius because I think that it is logical. She is a survivor of sexual trauma, who grew up without parents and still enjoys excessive freedom with very little consequence, even with Severus. They all joke about her Oedipus complex, but I find it a quite natural transition for her to look for love in older men, especially those who are interested primarily in taking care of her and keeping her safe. As I stated in my first ever story disclaimer, I would never ever condone a relationship like this outside of the realm of fanfiction, and in no way should it be considered healthy. However, for the purposes of this story, I believe it to be one of many possible outcomes for a girl in Rose's situation. The point is kind of the idea that Rosie is not healthy, and Sirius is also not healthy, and they come together in impossible conditions and make it work in order to find what little happiness they can.**

 **Anyways, I'm not changing the pairing, and thanks for reading! -Meg**

Rosie never thought she would find herself in the position that she was currently in. It had been an accident really. She had just run into Dudley who was observing Kreacher cleaning the door knob in Regulus' room when the boy had spoken to her.

"Rose." He cut through the silence.

"Yes Dudley?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Er… alright." She agreed, sitting down next to him at the end of the hallway.

"What is it Dud?"

"Um…did my father rape you?" The boy blushed red and turned away.

Rosie's breath caught.

"What? No Dudley! Do you think Remus would let him anywhere near me if that'd happened?"

"Thank god." He breathed. "I just… I heard mum yelling at him last night, and she said that you were raped, and I though maybe, that's why you didn't come back."

"No. No it wasn't. I didn't come back because my professors felt that I would not get the support I needed in your house after what happened to me at school."

"So mum was right. Something did happen to you?"

"Yes. It did. I was raped, by a professor."

Her cousin looked horrified. Rosie was getting a lot better at talking to people about it because she barely even cringed.

"So… since then you've lived with Remus and Sirius?"

"Sort of… I lived with my other guardian first. His name is Severus, and he was a friend of my mum's, but after that I moved in with Remus."

"He doesn't come around." Dudley observed.

"I usually go to him. He hates Sirius. They don't like to be in the same room together."

"Well why didn't you just move in with Serberus?"

"Severus." She corrected. "Because it's dangerous. He's a spy working with the Dark Wizard trying to kill me."

"Oh." The boy looked puzzled.

"Why did you live with us then, if Remus could've taken care of you?"

"Uh, well, Remus wasn't sure if he would be allowed to be my legal guardian… He's a werewolf you see, and the ministry is usually pretty cruel to werewolves."

"He's a w…werewolf?"

"Yup. It's really not a big deal." She pursed her lips.

"What about Sirius then?"

"Mm. He was my godfather, but he went to prison for twelve years. I just met him last year."

Her cousin's eyes were wide as saucers now.

"Well I'm glad you moved away."

"Thanks?" Rose furrowed her brows at him.

"I just mean, because I know that we didn't really treat you great…"

"Dudley. Just don't ok? I don't need to hear it. It's fine."

"No, it's just, what my parents did to you, and how I treated you… it was bad, and I wanted to apologize. I've had three years to think about it all."

"You were a kid. I get it. Move on with your life, I have."

"You're still angry and mum and dad though."

"Yes. I am. I don't think that will ever fade. There are dynamics of power Dudley. They were adults and I was a child. It's different than it was with you."

"So, are we ok then?" He looked so hopeful. It was odd.

"I guess so Dud."

"Thanks Rose. So, do you have lots of friends at that school of yours? Lots of er, magical people like you? A boyfriend?"

She bit her lip, frowning at the question. "Well, my very best friend is Ginny, and then there's her brother Ron, and Hermione, his girlfriend. Ginny's boyfriend is Dean. He lives in Little Whinging too. His parents are muggles."

"The Thomas'?" He asked, eyes widening.

"Mhm."

"And do you… Are you seeing someone? Or is it too soon after um… what happened to you?"

Rosie rubbed her temples. "Actually, I had a boyfriend for about a year and a half, but he died a few weeks ago." She informed him.

"He died?! How?"

She closed her eyes.

"Sorry." Dudley coughed.

"It's fine. He was killed, by a dark wizard. His name was Cedric."

They chatted for a few more minutes. Rosie learned that her cousin had joined a martial arts gym in Little Whinging and was hoping that there would be one in wherever they were moving to next. He was apparently excited for the fresh start. Dudley complained of boredom, being trapped in Grimmauld place everyday and Rose couldn't believe that she was doing it, but she did anyways.

"Well… if you want, Severus is taking me to a small, uncharted wizarding village tomorrow for lunch and some shopping. You could tag along."

"You'd let me come?" He seemed excited by the prospect, and Rosie didn't want him to come, if she were being honest, but how could she say no?

"Sure, but I have to warn you. Severus doesn't like anyone. He probably won't be nice to you. You shouldn't be offended."

"He doesn't like anyone?"

"Well. He likes me, but that's about it."

The next morning, Rosie got ready. She was supposed to make herself look different. Charming her hair into curls, Rose marveled at the difference. It was cute, though it made her look a lot younger. Next, she dressed herself in a plaid dress that Ginny had left for her after the last order meeting. When Rosie left her bedroom, she felt that she looked completely different.

Sirius, who was just getting up nearly fell over when he saw her.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Prongslet?" He chuckled.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment." She winked.

Her ex-godfather pulled her into a hug. "You look adorable kid."

"Hey! Are you saying I usually don't?"

"Well, normally you look older. Right now, you kind of look ten. We should've curled your hair for the trial."

She glared at him.

"I'm just being a dick Rosie. You're always beautiful." Siri touched her chin sweetly.

Rose loved Sirius.

Severus was waiting downstairs. He did a double take as well when she came into the kitchen.

"It appears that you did as I requested." Her guardian raised an eyebrow.

Rosie rushed forward and hugged him. "Severus." She sighed into his robes.

Rose usually went to more of an effort to show her affection for Severus lately, the fear of losing him too prominent now. The only thing worse than losing the potions master would be if she lost him without expressing exactly how much she adored him.

"Sir." She motioned for him to bend down so she could whisper in his ear.

"I felt bad and invited my cousin to come with us. Is that ok?"

"If that is what you wish." He spoke slowly.

Dudley sidled into the room looking guilty of a crime and Severus stood back up.

"Er… Severus, this is my cousin Dudley. Dudley, this is Severus." She introduced.

"N…nice to meet you sir." The boy looked up at her guardian.

Severus glared at him. "A pleasure." He drawled.

"Be nice." She swatted his arm.

The potions master led them outside and Rosie took his arm, anticipating the apparition.

"Um, Dudley, here, take my hand. We're going to use magic to get to the village. It'll be best if you shut your eyes and hold on tightly."

She reached out the hand that wasn't hooked around Severus' arm. Her cousin took it and was just about to ask what she meant when her guardian turned on the spot.

When they landed, Rosie cringed. Her cousin had keeled over and was breathing heavily, his skin glowing a sickly green. She looked up at Severus who smirked.

"Whenever you're ready Dud." Rose patted his back awkwardly.

She could barely believe that this was the same boy she used to spend hours hiding from. He would say just the most awful things to her, and now he was actually happy to spend time with she and Severus.

Eventually, Dudley got his bearings and looked to Rosie for guidance. She had apparently underestimated the potions master's ability to instill silent fear.

Severus led them to a café and found them a table. Rose, trying to be nice, slid into the booth across from him with her cousin.

"Now child, do inform me. Have you been practicing with meditation as I asked?"

"Yeah. I'm still having odd dreams though. I'm trying to do it before bed every night. I use the leftover patronus to calm me down and then I meditate."

"Hey, that's what they teach at the gym I go to. It's to help manage anger." Dudley interjected.

"I can be up to here, pissed off…" He clenched a fist in the air. "But as soon as we start that stuff I relax, it's amazing."

It was lost on the older boy, but Severus definitely caught her flinch at the sight of his raised fist.

"Severus teaches me so that I can block people from reading my thoughts."

"Wizards can read minds?" He gasped, looking to her again.

"Not all of them." She offered. "Severus can, and so can the dark wizard I told you about, the one that's after me."

"The one that killed Celtic?"

Rosie tried to control her facial expression. Dudley was just about as subtle as a baby elephant and seemed to have inherited his tact from his father.

"It's Cedric, and sort of."

"So, you can read my mind right now sir?" He turned to the potions master.

"Indeed. Though why I would have any desire to is the question."

Rose covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.

"It's not a continuous thing. You have to cast a spell to do it." She informed her cousin.

For lunch, Rosie ordered a small chicken pot pie and Severus had the same. Dudley, however, chose to eat a rather predictably large helping of fish and chips smothered in some sort of disgusting sauce. Some things never changed.

She didn't know what her guardian was playing at, but she could practically feel the Slytherin aura radiating around him as he began to question the larger boy.

"Rose is an unusually adequate cook." He commented offhandedly.

"Yeah, the food's been awful since she moved out. Mum's a terrible cook."

"Indeed, I would imagine that there are many household chores that require her attention in the absence of her niece."

"Oh, for sure. A year ago, she hired a maid, Sherry. She mostly does what Rose used to."

Rosie looked over to the other side of the café, keeping her gaze away from Severus'.

"Was your cousin a particularly well-behaved child?" He continued, still aiming questions at Dudley.

"Not really. No offense." He replied. "She was always causing trouble with the freak-er magic stuff."

"In what way?"

"Well…I don't really know actually, but she was always getting into it with my parents, Dad used to get so bloody mad, she'd be in the cupboard for…"

"Enough." Rose nearly yelled, but the damage was already done.

"Which cupboard are you referring to?" Severus' tone dropped even lower.

Dudley seemed to realize in that moment that he shouldn't have said anything.

"He's talking about the cupboard under the stairs. I used to play there a lot." She lied.

"A peculiar place for a child to play."

"Yeah well I was a weird child." She glared at him, trying to convey her displeasure with the conversation.

Severus dropped the topic, but she knew that he had retained every scrap of information. This would not be the last time it was brought up.

The shopping turned into Rosie looking in through a few store windows and then calling it an afternoon. It was just as well. There would be an order meeting that evening. Moony was at work until later, and Dudley had retreated up to his room. The Dursleys had been warned that there would be a bunch of them congregating in the living area that evening.

Severus was surely going to kill her after the meeting. She could feel the way his eyes tracked her. It wasn't her fault; the attraction was magnetic. Charlie Weasley had come home for the summer. Rosie had never met him before. The second eldest Weasley worked with dragons in Romania. He'd come home for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, but Rose hadn't gotten a chance to be introduced. He was almost laughably handsome and definitely too old for her, but he had a youthful quality about him that made him relatable, and he wore a leather jacket.

She was being purposefully coy, and the potions master always hated when she acted this way. Rosie was totally into her best friend's older brother, and from the looks he was shooting her, there was no resistance on his end.

After the meeting had adjourned, he came over to her right away.

"Rose Potter. Very nice to finally meet you." The boy stuck out a hand.

Rosie smiled widely and took it. "Nice to meet you too Charlie. I've heard so much about you."

They chatted for a while about his work with dragons. Charlie was absolutely fascinated by parseltongue as a way to connect with the beasts, and practically begged her to teach him a few phrases, alone, in a secluded place. She had never been with a Weasley before, but that didn't mean it was too late to start. The two were in the middle of making plans to meet for a lesson when she felt two sets of arms lock around hers.

"Well hello there, dear brother." Fred greeted, smiling.

"We see you've met Rosie here, Ginny's best friend." George added, almost glaring at his older brother.

"Yeah, Rose was just agreeing to teach me some parseltongue. To help with the dragons…" He rubbed his neck.

"I bet she was." Fred continued.

"Why don't we all meet, together?" George suggested.

Rosie giggled. "Guys, really?"

Her favorite twin smirked. "Freddie here is just gonna stay and have a little chat with Charlie. Why don't you come with me sweet cheeks?" He suggested pleasantly.

She followed George off and the boy pulled her into the sitting room.

"Rose love, Charlie's a real dog with women. He's always been, and he's not looking for anything serious…"

Rose laughed. "George! My boyfriend just died. I'm not looking for anything serious."

"Aw Rosie don't talk like that. You're like another little sister to Freddie and me. You can't have sex with our older brother."

Putting her finger to his lips she shushed him. "Relax George. If you don't talk about it, it's like it never happened."

He cringed. "Fine. Fine, but just so you're aware, you are way too good for the depravity that is Charlie."

Rosie thanked the twins for their concern and invited them to her birthday supper for that year, then solidified her Monday plans with Charlie. Before she'd said goodbye, Severus came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Mr. Weasley." He glared.

"Hello Professor Snape. How've you been?" The boy grinned impishly.

Her guardian did not answer. He only continued to sneer. Moony was on the other side of the room with his hand over his mouth trying to suppress laughter.

"I think I have to go Charlie, but I'll see you Monday. Yeah?" She winked at him.

"Goodbye Rose, see you Monday." He confirmed, leaning forward to kiss her lightly on the cheek.

Rosie was staying with Severus for the night and she turned around and blew Moony a kiss as the potions master practically dragged her from the house. He apparated them wordlessly and when she was comfortably sitting on his couch, that's when he laid in her.

"Rose Lily, why does it always have to be someone entirely inappropriate? Could you not develop an interest in Longbottom, or Finnegan, or just about any other male who is actually of an appropriate dating age."

"Well there's always Malfoy." She giggled and he clenched his fists.

"Rose you are trying my patience."

"Severus, c'mon he's a Weasley. How bad can he be?"

Her guardian rubbed his hand over his face.

"Do you recall what I said the last time you decided to involve yourself with a much older man?"

"Not to." She answered.

"Indeed. And was that advice useful?"

"Yes, but Severus, Viktor was a brute. Charlie is much easier to talk to."

"Yes, that must be so apparent after the one conversation that you had with him."

"Well, you taught him. What's he like?"

"He is just like Black. Younger Black."

"He must be very well practiced then." She taunted.

A vein nearly popped in Severus' forehead.

They practiced meditating after that. Rosie figured that Severus really needed to meditate, so he was using it as an excuse to teach her.

"Now." Her guardian began. "I am going to begin by sifting through a series of random memories, until one of them peaks my interest. Then, I'm going to look for memories similar. You will attempt to block me."

Rosie nodded and then opened her eyes.

He was in head quickly and without pleasantries.

 _Rosie cried and screamed as Lockhart held her down, pushing into her._

That memory was gone almost as soon as it began. Severus must have flicked it away.

 _She jumped up, wrapping Siri in a hug and thanked him for the firebolt._

 _Next memory._

 _Moony wrapped her tightly in a blanket and curled himself around her in the bed._

 _Next memory._

 _Severus held her back, helping her float in the water._

 _Next memory._

 _"No. You do not get to tell me what I should've done. We are who we're raised to be, and you raised me silent, and submissive. Don't you dare deny that now." Rosie hissed at her aunt._

Severus latched on this memory and she could feel him push into a specific section of her mind. Aunt Petunia's face coming into view.

" _You little freak. You'll be sorry for that tomorrow." Her aunt threatened, taking the big kitchen scissors and cutting a large strand of Rosie's hair off._

 _Next memory._

" _How dare you sneak into my kitchen at night to steal from me!?"_

" _Please, Aunt Petunia, I'm so hungry."_

" _Stop your sniveling." Her aunt shoved her roughly back and slammed the door in her face._

 _Next memory._

" _You know that you deserved this little girl." Petunia looked her in the eyes, rolling up her sleeve to reveal a large bruise on her arm in the shape of large, beefy fingers._

Rosie pushed as hard as she could at the barrier and Severus was flung from her mind.

"Did you mean to produce a stinging hex?" He grunted.

"No! Oh Severus, I'm sorry." She frowned.

"It is of no matter." He bent down to her level and spoke with a concerned tension.

"Child, I was not aware that your uncle was physically abusive towards you."

Rose shook her head.

"It wasn't very often sir. Honest. It was only when I did magic."

Severus closed his eyes and sighed.

"I too had a father who was not shy with the belt where magic was involved."

Her eyes widened slightly. Poor Severus. Uncle Vernon had never ever hit her. He'd just grab her or push her sometimes.

"I love you Severus." She lunged forward and trapped him in a hug.

"I love you very much Rose." He patted her back.

Rosie nearly gasped in surprise. Severus had never said those words to her before.

Their moment was interrupted by her guardian's hiss of pain. He clutched at his wrist and cringed.

"Rose. I need you to floo yourself home. If it is not too late when I return, I will come to collect you. Do you understand? Do not linger here."

She wanted to cry, but instead she nodded. Rosie tried to convey how much she needed him to come back in one expression, before quickly hurrying over to the fire.

Back at Grimmauld place, Rose looked for Moony. She figured that he must have gone to bed. It was in these moments that she switched from being a feisty and overzealous teenage girl into a small child. The child in her needed a hug from her godfather, so, she went upstairs.

The door to Moony's room was closed, which was odd. He usually left it cracked open all night, but she didn't think too much of it. Rosie turned the knob and pushed it open, and her fears for Severus vanished. Her mouth fell open in shock and she let out a soft gasp.

She should've knocked, but Rose never knocked. Moony had never given her any reason. He always showered and changed in the bathroom. There was never a time when she'd encountered him doing anything aside from reading or sleeping.

That evening, when she opened to door, a silencing spell was breeched. Her guardian was naked, which was a shock enough. Moony was always so embarrassed to be caught any less than fully clothed. On top of that, he wasn't alone. Kingsley Shacklebolt was in the bed with her godfather, and Rosie couldn't believe her eyes.

The other man was doing something absolutely unspeakable to Moony, and from the looks of it, the werewolf was enjoying himself. Rose was so stunned that she had frozen in the doorway, unable to look away.

It took a moment for her to really react, and when she did, her face seared red and she shut her eyes.

"Oh my god." Rosie breathed.

Moony most definitely heard her. He had excellent hearing, and when she spoke, he stilled, and then groaned. She covered her eyes with her hands and turned away before he could look at her.

"I`m so sorry." She choked and slammed the door to his bedroom shut.

Rosie wasn't sure why, but her eyes began to fill with tears, wetting her cheeks and lashes. Her breath hitched and she hurried down the hall, locking herself with magic inside her room.

She began to sob, scared for Severus, and so confused about what she'd just walked in on.

Severus arrived at Grimmauld place after the meeting, but not before stopping off to take a few potions. He would rather not frighten Rose with the tremors that still electrified his body.

When he arrived, the muggle boy was prowling around the kitchen apparently in search of something to eat. Severus did not wish to converse with the boy again, so he moved quietly.

Lupin and Black were congregated outside of the bedroom where he knew that Rose slept. They were, as it appeared, locked out. Surely his disappearance hadn't upset her so profoundly that she'd lock out the wolf.

Upon further inspection, Black seemed to be comforting Lupin who had his hand over his face.

"Is there an issue?" Severus interjected, looming over the two men.

"Ah Snape. You're here." Black sighed in a tone that almost sounded relieved.

That was a first.

"Yes…" He drawled. "What of Rose?"

Lupin groaned, and flushed red.

"Well, you see Sniv, dearest Prongslet seems to have walked in on Remus here having some private time with a certain auror… and she's locked herself in her bedroom and won't open the door to us." The mutt explained.

Severus sneered in disgust. No wonder she was hiding.

"As you are aware, Rose has difficulties with shared affection. Perhaps you might have considered that before inviting a woman into the house where she lives." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Snape, I don't see… women." Lupin exhaled, shifting uncomfortably.

Lupin was gay. Severus most certainly should have seen that coming.

"I see." He nodded slowly. "In that case, perhaps the issue is rather less complex."

"What are you talking about Snape?" Black hissed.

"As it stands, I am not sure that Rose is familiar with the concept of homosexuality. It could be that she is simply confused and does not understand what she saw."

"She's like fifteen. How can she not know what being gay means?"

Lupin held up a hand to stop the mutt from continuing.

"Rose knows far more than she should when it comes to the intricacies of adult relationships; however, she grew up incredibly sheltered all the same. If she has not encountered it among her friends, then she most likely remains naïve."

"Oh god." The wolf moaned. "Will you speak with her Severus? I don't think I'll be able to look her in the eye again for weeks."

"I find the idea of discussing your sex life with that child utterly repulsive."

Lupin looked to Black next.

"Nope." He shook his head. "Not a chance my friend. I'm always the one who has to deal with all Rosie's sex drama. I'm all maxed out."

"Yes, but you're so good at it. She likes talking to you about that stuff." He retorted desperately. "Rosie'll just pat me on the head and spare my feelings."

Severus despised the idea of Rose learning about intimacy from Black, but he did not wish to speak with her about it either, so he allowed Lupin to beg.

"Fine. Fine, but I'm not good at the feelings bit so if she's mad that you're dating, I'm out." He negotiated.

"That part I can do." The wolf nodded.

"While you're at it Black, do discourage her from pursuing Charlie Weasley. My attempts have thus far failed." Severus interjected.

"You're overestimating my abilities Sniv. I've been trying to keep her off that Malfoy git for months."

Lupin paled.

"Rosie's sleeping with Draco Malfoy?"

"Oops. Did I forget to mention that?" The mutt rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"You knew Severus?" Lupin turned to him.

"Only as of recently." He scowled. "If she is so inclined, you may send Rose over later. If she is too tired, inform her that I will come here in the morning."

"Just a second Sniv. She's locked the door, and I don't know which charm she's used." Black added.

He sighed. "Rose uses a locking and silencing spell of my own invention."

Severus flicked his wand and the lock clicked open. He saw himself out, passing the disgusting muggle boy again on his way.

Rosie had for the most part, calmed herself down by the time Siri had managed to get into her room.

"Hey precious. Can we talk?" He started, sitting down on the bed with her.

"Is Severus ok? Have you heard from him? I've been so worried." The words tumbled out quickly.

Sirius seemed to sag. "Oh, you're worried about Snape. Yeah, he was just here. He's fine."

Rose let out her breath.

"Remus is not fine though. He's mortified."

She blushed.

"I don't want to talk about that." Rosie confirmed.

"Listen, Remus is a really good guy Prongslet. He's the best type of person and if you're gonna sit there and judge him for who he has sex with then we need to have a talk."

"He wasn't… having sex, he was doing something else." She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Rosie… oh love, he was having sex, just a different kind." Siri looked embarrassed.

"With Kingsley? He's a man."

"Yes well, some men aren't attracted to women. Remus is one of those men."

"So, Moony has sex with men instead?"

"Well, your godfather is hardly what I'd call sexually active." He teased. "But he does like this auror bloke."

"Oh. Well that's nice then." Rosie smiled softly. "I want him to be happy."

"Good." He grinned. "Then that's settled."

"It looked kinda painful." She added, scrunching up her face.

"Ah, yeah, I'd imagine for you it would be."

"Wait… do men do that to women too?"

Sirius was squirming now. "Some people do, some people don't. Everyone likes different things kid."

Rosie nodded thoughtfully. "Somehow I don't think that'll be added to my list."

"You shouldn't do anything you don't want to do Prongslet."

"I know Siri. Don't you start in on me about this too."

"Hey, I'm not. Just be careful. Last time you tried to be with someone a lot older than you, you got scared. Remember?"

"I remember, but I wanted to sleep with Viktor for the wrong reasons. It wasn't for me; it was to piss of Ced. I do want to sleep with Charlie though."

Her ex-godfather sighed and relaxed against the bedframe, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, if you're sure precious, but I'm just nervous that you won't stand up for yourself if that Weasley boy tries to do something you don't like."

"I stand up to Draco."

"Mhm." He looked at her doubtfully.

"It's true! He always respects when I tell him not to do something."

"So, you wanted bruises on your wrists then?" Siri raised an eyebrow.

"Well no, because you and Severus get mad at me about it, but I never minded that. I've never done anything with Malfoy that I didn't want; sometimes I did with Ced though." She confessed.

"Are you saying that Diggory forced you to…"

"No! No not exactly. It was just kind of the same thing that happened with Viktor. I changed my mind or didn't really want to and then I couldn't think of a way to say no so I just… didn't."

Sirius closed his eyes. "That's not right Rosie."

"I know that ok? Severus already told me that it's not consent if I don't say anything, but I don't know what to say! That's the problem."

"What's wrong with no?"

Rosie glared at him.

"Don't look at me like that. It's a fair question. What do you usually say to the death eater kid?"

She frowned again. "Draco is good at reading body language."

"Well, with someone who isn't, you could always try giving them a warning."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You could let this Charlie guy know that you need him to pay attention to how you react."

"That wouldn't be weird?"

"No, love. I don't think it would be weird at all." He shook his head, rubbing her arm lightly.


	91. Chapter 91

Rosie moaned, grinding her hips up to meet Charlie's, her lips locking with his and her chest heaving. His hands were skilled, and he'd wormed her out of her shirt and tights in record time. Thumbs pawing at her nipples through the fabric of her bra, the boy caused her to squirm and rock against him again. She felt the hardness of his erection pressed into her stomach.

Moony was working, Sirius was on guard duty, and Rosie had invited the Weasley boy over for the evening in secret after their parseltongue lesson that afternoon. Only the Dursleys were home, and frankly, Rose didn't care much what they thought of her.

Charlie was obviously very good at this, because unlike with Viktor, stopping was the last thing on her mind. He kissed a trail of heat down her neck and chest, snaking his hand around her back to unhook her bra.

"You know, I wasn't sure if I was reading the signs right." He breathed.

"What signs?" She asked, letting out a soft moan as he flicked his tongue across her nipple.

"Well, Freddie was pretty adamant that you were all flirt and no action."

"Ugh!" She cried out. "Like Fred would know. He was just being protective."

"Well, I for one and happy to hear that." Charlie ground down onto her harder.

Wetness pooled between her thighs as the tension grew within her belly and the redhead chuckled as he stroked his fingers along the outside of her knickers.

Rosie keened her forehead into his shoulder, her hands running down the length of his back, which was irresistibly smooth. The boy had a seeker's body, which apparently was Rose's thing. She always gravitated towards the seekers.

He was panting now, cheeks flushed with desire. "You're absolutely perfect." Charlie whispered, his eyes sweeping over her body again.

"I'm scared to ask how old you are."

"Mm. If you cared, then you should've asked before now." Rosie slipped a hand down his stomach and into the waistband of his boxers, gripping his member firmly in her hands.

"Ah! God, yeah you're right." He closed his eyes.

"Just, Fred told me about what happened with that professor of yours and…"

Rose nearly growled with pent up sexual frustration.

"Merlin Charlie, there is nothing less arousing than that so can you please just shut up. I'm fine."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'm the one who should be concerned. Ginny's gonna kill me."

The boy, who had his head bent and his lips parted in pleasure at her ministrations opened his eyes.

"Let's not talk about my kid sister."

"Good plan." She agreed.

Charlie pushed her back onto the bed, his mouth attacking her breasts with fervor.

Rosie wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him back in, the friction from the union of damp cloth and pressure caused her toes to curl in anticipation.

The heat was indescribable, and Rose didn't think she could stop moving if she tried, her body clenching and writhing under him. Finally, after another moment of this, she threw her head back and let out a cry of release.

"There you go." He hummed as she rode it out.

Charlie let himself go after Rosie came, sliding her knickers down her legs and stroking himself at her entrance. He slid into her with ease and her breath came out as a strangled sigh.

"Holy shit." She heard the boy mutter and Rose knotted her fingers in his hair.

It made such a difference, time and a bed.

The boy took his time and with each thrust it felt as though he sunk deeper into her until she swore she could feel him in her belly. Rosie clenched around him and Charlie sped up, a bead of sweat travelling down his forehead, which was lined with concentration.

"God Rose." He grunted, motions slowing as he bucked forward.

There was something familiar about his demeanor, the way that he held her leg confidently back and knew just exactly the movements that drove her wild. Maybe it was the self-assurance, or the way that he was cradling her body in that moment, but it made her think of Sirius.

Severus had insisted that Charlie was like a younger Sirius, and somehow, that'd stuck in her head. She'd have to murder the potions master later as it was in the same second as her ex-godfather appeared in her head that the older Weasley hit a spot inside of her, provoking her orgasm along with his own.

"Fuck!" Rosie cried, but it wasn't because of her release.

It was because Siri's face had been in her mind while she'd experienced it. That was fucked up, as Draco would say. Curse Severus.

She quickly dispelled those thoughts from her mind. That was a big, fat, one hundred percent never gonna happen no.

If the Oedipus complex were a tournament, that would be the final task.

Honestly, Rose felt icky just thinking about it. She chose instead to focus on Charlie, who was very happy, as men usually were after sex.

When Charlie left that evening, Uncle Vernon had just so happened to be leaving the guest bedroom too. He sneered at her as he watched the obviously disheveled and older man leave her room.

It wasn't until she'd already started supper that Rosie realized how utterly stupid she was and had been once again. She really had to look into a contraceptive potion. This time, Severus was not going to find out.

Rose was being underhanded, but she didn't care. She summoned Kreacher.

"Mistress Rose is needing Kreacher?" The little elf bowed to her.

"Er, yes. I was wondering if you could maybe pop into Diagon Alley on a little errand for me."

"Kreacher is doing whatever shopping his Mistress requires."

"You're the best Kreacher." She smiled, handing him a note of what to buy.

Rosie snuck into Regulus' room that night and stole a fancy looking quill with the boy's name engraved on it. She left it in the elf's cupboard.

Moony and Sirius returned home around the same time and both sat down to eat, grateful for the food.

"How was work?" She asked her godfather, smiling.

"Oh, same old sweet pea. We got some new stock in, but the scanner broke, so we couldn't process it."

"Oh, well I hope it gets fixed soon." Rosie patted his head.

"What about you Siri? How's the hall of prophecies tonight?"

"Pretty boring love." He smirked, and she tried not to think of her inappropriate experience from before.

"I think that next time, you should just bring me there for like two seconds, I'll break the bloody prophecy and then you can apparate me away."

"Honey, that's exactly what Voldemort is waiting for you to do." Moony interjected.

"Well, does he watch the prophecy every second of every day?"

"Probably. Don't forget that he has your blood kid. He can do all sorts of messed up shit with that. There might even be some sort of wards that tip him off if you come near."

Sirius was frowning at her.

"Well, at least he doesn't know yet what it says." She hummed out loud.

Both men stilled.

"And what might that be precious?" Siri asked casually, as though he wasn't burning with curiosity.

Rosie bit her lip, turning away from them. She didn't want to see their faces when she told them. Instead, she focused on the stove, their eyes on her back.

"Let's just say that we're looking at a kill or be killed kinda situation."

"What?" Rose heard Sirius hiss and Moony's breath caught.

"Sweetie you don't mean…" Her godfather sounded unsure.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark her as his equal, but she will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..." Rosie repeated mechanically.

After a moment of complete silence, Rose turned around.

Moony was clutching Siri's arm tightly and staring into space. Her ex-godfather appeared as though he'd swallowed something particularly foul.

"I think I'm just gonna head up to bed." She announced after a moment.

Perhaps it would be good to give her guardian a chance to process things.

Even Sirius did not move to prevent her.

Kreacher had left the potion on her nightstand. Rose picked it up and closed her eyes regretfully. She couldn't decide what was worse, her fated defeat of the Dark Lord or her fate for the morning.

The potion was a slightly different shade from the one that Severus made her, and the consistency was a bit off too, but Rose figured that it couldn't be that much different. After she'd downed it, she lay back in her bed and went straight to sleep.

Remus barely slept the evening that Rosie told them the prophecy. How could he? That girl had become his cub, his pack, his child. She was the most important thing in his life, and would continue to be until the day that he eventually died. The werewolf never would've predicted that perhaps she might be the one to die first. That thought was absolutely abhorrent.

Sirius was a great comfort to him, and it just reaffirmed his decision to allow his best friend to be so involved over the past year. It was especially nice now that he and Rose seemed to have developed a routine. Their fights were still frequent but there was a definite affection there that hadn't been before.

The other man had sat with him in the sitting room and shared a bottle of firewhiskey as they mulled over just exactly how much training sweet Rosie would need in order to defeat the most notorious dark wizard of the century.

The next morning, he was slightly hungover and had slept in. Sirius always slept in, so it was no surprise when Remus didn't find him in the kitchen that morning; however, it was almost eleven and Rosie still hadn't surfaced. That was especially odd.

Slightly worried, the werewolf found himself knocking lightly on his goddaughter's door. There was no answer. He pushed into the room and nearly collapsed with anxiety at the sight that met him.

Rosie was wearing only a pair of pale blue knickers, which were stained a crimson red. Her inner thighs were wet with blood as were her sheets. The sleepshirt that she wore clung to her frame, wet with sweat and her breathing was taut and ragged.

Remus knelt down beside her and tried to shake her awake but she did not move. Rose wasn't conscious, and it seemed like she hadn't been for a while. Her fever was extremely high, and her skin burned like fire.

Panic coursed through his veins as he tried to decide what to do next. Remus opted to wake Sirius and then call for Severus. He left his best friend in charge of watching over her, his eyes wide with horror as he took in the scene. Remus had tried to cover her as best he could, but it was still obvious that something was seriously wrong.

The potions master had been reading the paper when he barged in through the floo and had stood up instantly as Remus explained the situation.

"What are her symptoms?" He demanded.

"She's got a high fever, really bloody high, she's not responsive or conscious at all, and she's bleeding Severus, heavily."

"Bleeding?"

"She didn't wear much to bed and her knickers are soaked through. Her legs are covered in blood, and so are her sheets." He rubbed his temples roughly.

"It sounds like a hemorrhage." Severus muttered to himself, and then he disappeared into his lab and came back with several vials of potion.

When they arrived back at the house, Sirius was near tears holding her hand.

"Her breathing is getting worse." He whispered.

Snape took Sirius' place next to Rosie and began to feel her skin, eyeing the mess of red that had spread on her sheets.

When he spoke, it was slow and controlled.

"Is there any chance… that she is pregnant?" He asked, closing his eyes.

"Pregnant?" Sirius gasped, but Remus just sighed.

"I don't know, honestly, Severus. She doesn't tell me these things."

Snape looked then to Padfoot.

"When was the last time that she… engaged with anyone?"

"I don't know!" He cried defensively. "I'm assuming Diggory, but god you never know with her."

"If Cedric did get her pregnant, she'd be at the very least a month along now, probably more…" Remus continued.

"Has she been ill, in the mornings, or at any time?" Severus questioned them, while tipping potions down her throat.

"No." He confirmed. "Not that I've seen. If she suspected though, she might've been hiding it."

"If she is indeed hemorrhaging due to a miscarriage, then the potions I've given her should stop the bleeding and bring down her fever."

"I don't think she's pregnant." Sirius breathed. "Or… if she is, I don't think she knew."

"There are few other explanations for this level of blood loss. How did she seem last night?"

"She seemed fine. Rosie cooked dinner for us when we got home, and then she went to bed early. She didn't look sick at all." Remus explained, his heart hammering in his chest.

Rosie's fever wasn't breaking. Not in the slightest.

Severus seemed to be wearing thin. "It may be prudent to contact Albus and get Poppy here." He nodded at them.

The werewolf turned to do so when he came face to face with Sirius' elf, Kreacher, who was fidgeting nervously with his tea towel in the doorway.

"Mistress Rose has taken ill. Kreacher wonders if she will die."

Sirius reacted, making a fist and turning towards the little elf, rage evident in his expression, but Remus had an idea.

"Wait, Sirius. Kreacher, do you know if Rose was ill last night?"

"The half-breed has spoken to Kreacher."

"Answer the bloody question." Sirius growled.

"Kreacher's mistress grew sicker after she took the potion." The elf croaked.

"What potion?" Severus spat.

"Kreacher is forbidden from telling his Mistress's Severus."

"Rose is not your mistress. You answer to me. Tell Snape what potion Rosie took." His friend demanded.

"Kreacher has a note, which he took to the apothecary in Diagon Alley at his Mistress's request." He glared, reaching into his towel and pulling out a small piece of parchment.

Remus took it. "Imperium Peperit Subitis." He read, furrowing his brows.

Severus groaned and closed his eyes. "Insolent girl." The man muttered.

"What is it?"

"It is an emergency contraceptive potion." He sighed.

"What? She's taken those before. They've never done this to her!" Sirius interrupted.

"That is because in the past, I brewed them. The emergency contraceptive potion sold in apothecaries contains a concentrated form of the valerian root known as valeriana. It is artificial, and in very rare cases it can cause a violent and adverse reaction mimicking the symptoms of hemorrhage."

Severus stood up then and left the room, presumably he had gone to get another potion.

"Oh Rosie." Remus exhaled, rubbing his face. "I wish she'd said something, at least to one of us."

"I don't know what the fuck is wrong with this generation of dickheads who would rather a girl end up like this…" Padfoot motioned towards Rose, "Then learn to use the god damn contraceptive spell."

"Rosie forgets." He offered.

"Yeah, I get that Remus, but she has sex with men! Grown ass men who should not be forgetting this stuff."

"She must've snuck someone over here last night."

"It's that bloody Weasley asshole."

"Charlie." Remus breathed.

Rose hadn't moved a muscle on her own since he had found her that morning. Her breath was still shallow and weak, and her eyes closed. He prayed that Severus would return soon because Remus didn't know how long this could go on for, with a fever this high, before permanent damage could occur.

Sirius had taken a seat at the desk chair and had his head in is hands. Remus moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He scourgified the sheets, Rosie`s underpants, her legs. After she was clean, he stroked her face, casting a cooling charm over her body.

Severus returned with several more vials of potion and Remus stood up again, moving back to place his hands on Sirius' shoulders.

The potions master worked over Rose as though she were a doll. He manipulated her head carefully to make sure that she downed the potions, and his fingers massaged her throat, allowing them to pass. She was floppy in his arms. He couldn't believe that one simple ingredient change could be so devastating.

"It will be wise in the future to ensure that Rose does not consume any potions containing valeriana as a substitute for valerian root. Emergency contraceptive, veritaserum, certain brands of pepper up potion, confusing concoctions."

"Maybe on the safe side we should just always have you brew anything that she needs Severus."

Rosie was beginning to come to. She was freezing, her teeth chattering, and her head heavy and hurting. Somebody was touching her face, stroking her hair. Rose had a sudden vision of Lockhart, standing over her, his hands all over her body, his breath hot in her ear and she began to squirm, to try and escape.

It took a while for her to realize that it wasn't Lockhart who was there with her, it was Severus. His voice was soft but commanding as he helped her gently to sit up. She leaned on his for support and he held her back. Her t-shirt was soaked through with sweat.

"Ok child. Just relax and lean forward." He soothed, pulling her shirt up and helping her arms out of it.

Rosie realized vaguely that she wasn't wearing a bra, and she felt like she should feel self-conscious, but it was Severus, and he never cared. In fact, he seemed to keep his eyes averted just so, to avoid looking at her, while still summoning a sweatshirt and helping it over her head.

Her guardian located some sweatpants and slid them up over her thighs softly until Rose was completely dressed and warm again in the all grey outfit.

"S…Severus, what happened?" Rose sighed against him.

"You had an adverse reaction to the potion that you consumed last night."

"Oh." She blushed.

"Oh indeed. Rose, I have been very lenient with you over the past couple years, partly because I have not wanted to make your life any harder than it already is, but I believe that in doing so, I have done you a disservice."

Rosie just looked at him, waiting for what was to come.

"I understand that you were hurt very badly child, and that you have used sexual intimacy as a pathway to prevent the trauma from generalizing to all intimate relationships; however, this cannot continue."

She grimaced.

"You are only fifteen years old. You cannot be partaking in sexual activity with men that are three, four, and five years older than you. Perhaps it does not feel like it, but you are harming yourself."

"I'm sorry Severus."

"Do not apologize to me Rose. Apologize to yourself. You nearly died, because you neglected once again to use the contraceptive charm."

"What should I do?" Rosie looked up at her guardian with wide eyes.

"Perhaps it would be prudent to… take a break, from sexual intimacy altogether, at least for the duration of the summer."

"I guess I could…" She nodded into his shoulder, "But, sometimes I just get so, frustrated, tense, you know."

"Child." Severus seemed to bristle with discomfort. "Have you considered, attempting to release that pent up tension on your own?"

"What do you mean?"

He paused for a long moment.

"I mean that you might be willing to try stimulating yourself."

Rose choked. "Oh god Severus. Please don't talk about that."

"It is merely a suggestion Rose."

"Ok. Noted. I'll try." She covered her face with her hands.


	92. Chapter 92

Apparently, Rosie's little brush with death was significant enough that both Severus and Moony decided to enact rules. She figured that Severus had made the rules, and Moony was just backing him up.

They were as follows,

No sex, especially no sex with adults, no taking potions that Severus didn't brew, no forbidding Kreacher from disclosing information to her guardians, and no having guests over without telling someone first.

Rose understood the rules and wanted to respect them. She only hoped that she wouldn't do anything stupid that would anger Severus. He was being so nice to her since the contraceptive potion incident.

Moony was always nice to her, and she knew that he would never actually enforce any of the rules, but it was wrong to take advantage of him, so Rosie tried following them anyways.

Sirius had been really good to have around since that day. He was constantly trying to distract her. He took her places while Moony was working, and Padfoot took her out for walks to the nearby park.

She missed Cedric.

The time with the Dursleys was slowly but surely coming to an end. Aunt Petunia had barely said a single thing to her since Rosie had yelled at her on one of the first nights. Dudley had been almost insufferable with questions, and Vernon had mostly kept to himself, shooting her glares and disapproving looks as though he had any power here.

If she were being honest with herself, Vernon mostly kept quiet because Rose went out of her way to make sure he was appeased. He did hold a fair amount of power over her. So much so, that one morning, Moony had pulled her aside and actually requested that she not behave so subserviently with the man. He had given her permission to refuse her uncle.

Charlie Weasley had been super persistent since their first encounter together, and Ginny was highly unimpressed. The girls were protective of each other, and Ginny, who was smarter than Rosie, was astute enough to disapprove of her brother's actions, considering the age difference.

Rose didn't feel like it had been a bad experience at all though, just what had come afterwards. Charlie had behaved, for the most part, like a gentleman.

At first, Rosie worried that Ginny might be angry with her for sleeping with her much older brother, but she wasn't. Her friend had been mostly just grossed out. Charlie and Ginny had never been close. Rose knew that if she had slept with Bill… well, that would've been a bigger deal. Bill was like Ginny's dad-brother, the one that doted on her most.

The lines between family and not family were very confusing for Rosie. She had a hard time discerning what she was supposed to feel for whom, and when.

For example, Kingsley. Moony's new beau was very nice, and she didn't mind when he was around. She didn't get jealous that her godfather spent time with him, or had sex with him, but she knew instinctively that if Moony had started dating a woman, she would've been resentful, and probably unhappy.

It was weird. Rosie didn't want to have sex with Moony. He was like her dad, but she also didn't want him to have sex or be in a relationship with any other woman.

The prospect of Severus dating was even worse. Rose did not know what Severus did all of the time, but she was certain that he didn't have a love interest. It was silly, and probably very possessive of her, but Rosie would never be alright with that idea. She liked being Severus' favorite person, and she didn't want anyone else to take over that spot.

Of course, if either of her guardians did bring home a woman, Rose knew that she would try her very best not to let her feelings show, because she cared for them both very much, but honestly, even the thought made her chest tighten with anxiety.

It wasn't like that with Sirius either. Actually, Rosie was surprised that Siri never brought anyone over. He didn't really go out either. It was odd, considering how often people spoke about his notoriety with women. Sirius didn't do much of anything most of the time, but Rose would be okay if he did. She was secure enough in her relationship with him to know that he would never stop being her friend, and so she felt like him having a girlfriend wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Rosie tried not to be too concerned about her feelings. Afterall, Ginny was always jealous of Bill's girlfriends, and even with the twins she would sometimes get uppity, so it must be at least sort of normal.

It would've been so interesting to see how Rose would be if she were raised by Lily and James Potter. She betted that had she grown up without the influence of Severus, she would have been completely besotted with James. It was easy to tell, based primarily on how quickly she attached herself to Severus and Moony. Rosie felt like she was one of those girls who would've had her father wrapped around her finger.

Despite this, Rose didn't think that her relationship with her mother would suffer any. She'd heard some of her friends choosing one parent over the other as a favorite. Ginny wasn't like that, Hermione either, but she knew that Lavender was.

Her roommate was always doting on and praising her father, but talked badly of her mother, and was constantly competing to be the center of her father's attention. That's how Rosie felt like it would be if Severus started dating.

Lily Potter on the other hand was someone that Rosie idolized. It would be impossible for her potential relationship with her father, or anyone for that matter to get in the way of how deeply she longed for her mother.

On the last day before the Dursleys were supposed to leave to their new home, Rosie made a lunch for them all. She made chicken and potatoes how she knew they liked and had even made a pie for after. The meal was tense, especially because Moony was at work, so Sirius was the only one there with her.

Dudley kept asking questions about magical bloodlines, and he expressed interest in the idea that technically, there was a possibility that his children might be magical. This made his aunt and uncle most uncomfortable. Vernon was slowly turning redder and redder.

Petunia kept reaching out to touch her husband's hand in either warning or support. Siri rubbed her arm briefly under the table.

The table was much too quiet. Siri, who had already summoned the firewhiskey for himself, did not move to stop her as she poured a glass and downed it quickly.

Vernon snorted, and Rosie looked up.

"Did you have something to say?" She asked haughtily.

"Just that I'm not surprised, with a father like yours." He motioned towards the glass and Rose tensed.

Sirius was at attention the moment that James was brought into the conversation, but he didn't understand Vernon's context. She had. Her whole life he'd told her only one thing, the same thing about her father.

"My dad was not a drunk." Rosie hissed. "The man who raised me on the other hand..."

Her uncle stood up as though he'd been waiting weeks for this and slammed his hand down on the table so hard it almost cracked.

Rose nearly jumped out of her seat and Siri stood up, splaying his hand out towards her protectively.

"Woah. Settle the fuck down." He warned, glaring at Vernon.

"No, you know what. I won't." Her uncle continued, turning to Rosie.

"You have been nothing but a right menace since you came into this world. Don't you think I didn't notice you up there whore-ing yourself out to that man…Are you fucking him too?" His beady eyes glanced towards Sirius.

She was too stunned to reply.

"You didn't appreciate a single thing we did for you. We fed you, clothed you, let you darken our doorstep for twelve years and you were so bloody ungrateful that you went out and got yourself raped so that you'd get a free pass to do whatever you bloody well wanted."

"Vernon." Petunia muttered.

Sirius by that time had his wand drawn and was pointing it at her uncle. "One more word, Dursley." He threatened; voice deadly quiet.

"Siri don't." She choked, standing up and grasping onto his arm to prevent him from going too far.

"You shouldn't have anything but pity for a grown man that resorts to physical strength to intimidate a child." Rosie spoke softly.

Those were some pretty wise words if she did say so herself.

Her ex-godfather lowered his wand. "I want you out of my house." He spoke to Vernon directly.

"You'll stay in this room until I return with Dumbledore who will escort you out."

Then, he turned to Rose. "Go up to your room kid. They'll be gone when you come down later."

She nodded.

Petunia looked away, ashamed, and Dudley reached out a hand towards her.

"Take care of yourself Rosie." He offered, frowning at her.

"Thanks Dud. You call me if you have magical kids, yeah? Don't let your parents lock 'em up."

He grimaced.

Rose felt an unresolved and uncomfortable tension simmering in her belly. She would probably never see those people again in her life, and it felt like there was so much more to be said, but her relatives were not going to do any of the talking. It was disappointing, but she felt embarrassed to have ever hoped for anything more from their time together.

The combination of the almost dying thing and the way that the Dursleys left sent Rosie into a bit of a depressive spell.

She was supposed to have a party for her birthday that year. This time Rose had invited more people, but when she woke up on the morning of July 31, her fifteenth birthday, she didn't even feel like getting out of bed.

Moony had come in like last year, and Rosie had hugged him, but then as soon as he left again, she rolled over and stuffed the pillow over her head.

By noon that day, she had requested that the party be cancelled. Moony really didn't want to, but her enthusiasm was nil, and he would never force her to do anything.

As soon as word had spread to Severus, her guardian came over to see if he could convince her to get out of bed. Rosie was not interested.

"Child, I do not know where this depression has stemmed from, but I can assure you that in discussing it, you will find some relief."

She just stared blankly at the wall.

He finally settled for offering her a bit of comfort. Severus rubbed her back softly and explained to her the steps to brewing a successful wolfsbane potion until she fell asleep again.

By the afternoon, Moony was rolling out the big guns. Rosie heard a scratching sound at her door and groaned. He'd sent Padfoot. Everyone knew she couldn't resist Padfoot.

Rose picked up her wand and spelled the door open for her favorite pup. He whined and hopped right up onto the bed, nuzzling her arm with his adorable wet nose.

"Hey." She sighed softly and began to scratch behind his ears.

Padfoot loved attention. Rosie hoped it would distract him from the purpose of his visit, but he just kept staring at her.

"Stop Siri. I just don't feel like it, ok?"

He let out a long-suffering dog moan and flopped onto her.

"I said stop." She rolled over to face the other wall.

The canine sat up and transformed.

"Rosie…" He sighed.

She didn't respond.

"Listen, Moony puts a lot of stock into your birthday and he's really upset. I hate to see him like this, and would it really be that hard to just pretend for a few hours?"

That made her feel even worse.

After a few moments of no response Siri sighed. "I'm sorry about this Prongslet, but you need to stop moping."

Rosie felt the tips of his fingers touch the underside of her knee and realized that he was going to tickle her just one second too late.

She was not in the mood, but she couldn't help it. It was a physical reaction. Rose squirmed and writhed under his touch, his actions forcing gutted laughs from her chest as she tried desperately to wriggle away.

"I hate you!" Rosie nearly cried. "I hate you so much!"

"Yeah, well I adore you." He said breathlessly as he continued to tickle her.

It didn't take much longer before her stuttering laughs turned into cries. Sirius stopped when she started to sob and pulled her close.

"What's wrong Prongslet? Why are you hiding?"

"I just don't want to do anything."

"Why?" He asked.

"I've just been feeling so much at the same time that now I can't feel anything at all." She exhaled.

"Oh love."

"I don't know what to do. I try to make myself feel something other than sadness and I nearly die. My relatives hate me. I can't get my dead boyfriend's face out of my head. I'm supposed to kill the most powerful dark wizard of the century and I don't know any magic and the only advice that Severus has given me lately is that I need to start masturbating!"

Siri choked. "He told you to do what?"

Rosie's cries turned into peals of hysterical laughter.

"He told me to try _stimulating myself_! Can you believe that?" She giggled madly.

"That's so gross." He made a face, patting her back.

She hiccoughed and looked up. "I don't want a party."

"You don't have to have a party kid, but just…come down with me. Remus will be so happy. Kingsley's here too, and we can even call Snape to come over."

Siri charmed her hair into something other than a mess and Moony smiled so widely when she came down the stairs that Rosie was tossed immediately into a pile of regret for making him sad.

"There's my girl." Her godfather grinned, pulling her into a hug.

She buried her face in his shoulder and Kingsley smiled from behind him.

"Hi Kingsley." Rosie greeted.

He winked back at her and said, "Happy Birthday Rose."

Moony had made her dinner, and there was a stack of presents to her right, and just about halfway through the evening Rose realized that perhaps she was just a teeny tiny bit jealous of Kingsley even though he wasn't a woman. She stuck to her guardian's side like a leech even when Severus came, and she felt unwilling to share her godfather's attention that evening.

It wasn't that she didn't like the auror, she did. Rosie just wasn't used to sharing. Moony was very understanding. He seemed to know instinctively what she was doing, and he allowed it. Kingsley just smirked at him perceptively, and it really did turn out to be a pleasant dinner.

Anytime that Rose had Moony, Siri, and Severus in the same room together without fighting was cause for celebration.

Surprisingly, Severus and Kingsley got along well. That provided a bit of a buffer for Severus so that he wasn't totally focused on his hatred for Sirius. She'd have to invite the auror over more often when the potions master was around.

In the end, Rosie's birthday was pretty laid back that year. She still felt heavy with the weight of responsibility, but she was glad that Siri had coaxed her out of bed for dinner at least. Rose knew that she'd have to make it up to her friends and that thought was overwhelming, but when she fell asleep that night, it was slightly more contented than she had woken up.

 **Important authors note: PLEASE READ**

 **Hey readers, I'm nearing the end of my ideas for summer before fifth year, and I am of the opinion that September will be approaching quickly. However, I wanted to check in to see if there is something that you would like to see happen specifically before Rosie goes back to school, or even during fifth year. If you do not comment, I will take your silence to mean you are cool with moving into year five. Thanks so much for reading- Meg**


	93. Chapter 93

Rosie wasn't sure how to do this. Severus had simply told her to stimulate herself, and she wasn't sure exactly how that was done. It had never occurred to her that any sort of climax could be achieved in the absence of a boy.

She settled for closing her eyes and picturing what she had enjoyed doing with Cedric, Malfoy, and Charlie. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that she should try touching her breasts.

Rose rolled one of her nipples between her fingers and sighed. That was definitely a good start. She continued to attempt this until she began to feel the warmth pool between her legs, and she rubbed them together greedily.

Was she supposed to think about a person? If so, who? She couldn't very well think of Ced. If she did that, Rosie knew she'd end up crying. Malfoy wasn't an option either. He never played with her breasts. This was so much more complicated than she thought it would be.

After overthinking for too long, the arousal had lessoned once again, and she had to knead at her chest a bit more to feel anything. Rose slipped a hand under the waistband of her knickers curiously and felt herself. She was wet, and the liquid got all over her fingers.

Pressing her hand onto herself harder, she let out a soft little moan. Perhaps this was what she was supposed to do. Rosie tried to move her hand in little circles, pressing down on the sensitive area at the top of her sex.

That worked. It was like a little button of pleasure. This was so odd.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she sped up the motions, biting her lip to keep from making any noise.

It didn't take too long before Rose felt the build up and then release of tension and she couldn't help but let out a small squeal.

That had been worth it, she thought, before rolling over and falling into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Rosie awoke to the sound of a soft knock on her door.

"Princess, are you awake?"

"Mmm." She mumbled.

"Lovey, Molly Weasley just flooed. She says that Ginny came home from Little Whinging early last night absolutely distraught and nobody can get her to talk."

Rose sat up. That couldn't be good.

She got out of bed slowly and pulled on some sleep shorts over her underwear, turning to Moony.

"I guess I'll head over to the burrow then. I have a pretty good idea what's up." Rosie yawned.

"I'll make you breakfast for when you get back." He kissed her head.

Rosie landed in the sitting room at the burrow tiredly and stretched. Fred, George, and Charlie were at the table stuffing their faces and they all looked up when she stumbled in.

"Heya Rosie." George grinned.

"Hey George, Fred, Charlie." She winked at the eldest Weasley.

"Rosie don't _do_ that." George groaned, referring to her wink.

"Aw, are you feeling icky thinking about me and Rosie… naked and sweaty…" Charlie taunted, just as Mr. Weasley walked into the room, his eyes wide.

"Ah…Dad." The older boy rubbed his neck, looking away.

Arthur turned to Rose, and expression of confusion on his face as he stared between her and his son.

"I'm gonna go see Ginny now…" Rosie blushed, turning towards the stairs.

She paused outside the kitchen just in time to hear Mr. Weasley address Charlie.

"Charles Weasley tell me you didn't…" He hissed.

She giggled. Poor Charlie was getting the short end of the stick. It was too bad she was banned from sex or she just might make it worth his while.

Ginny was buried so deeply under the blankets on her bed that Rosie couldn't actually see her.

Rose didn't bother with pleasantries, and just climbed right into the bed next to her friend. She tossed an arm over the girl and pulled her close.

"What happened?" She asked.

Ginny rolled over to face her and started to cry.

"Oh Rose! I just can't. What's wrong with me?! We tried again and it hurts so badly…" She trailed off, hiccoughing.

Rosie sighed and rubbed the girl's back.

"Does it ever hurt for you?"

"Only ever when I didn't want to do it Gin. It was bloody excruciating with Lockhart, and it hurt a couple times with Ced when I wasn't into it."

"But I want to do it!" She argued.

"Are you sure Gin? Are you like one hundred percent sure you're ready?"

Her friend closed her eyes.

"Well, you do it, and Hermione does too, and Ron." She mumbled.

"Ugh. Ginny. That's the worst reason. Do you know why I started having sex?"

She shook her head.

"I started because I needed a way to bring myself down from my outbursts, not because I really wanted to. It was only after doing it for a while that I even started to enjoy it."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yes Gin. I lost my virginity when I was twelve to a forty-year-old man and it made me do things that I never should've done. You don't have to rush. Honestly, if it hurts, and it makes you afraid, then you should wait."

"What about Dean?" Ginny asked then.

"If Dean can't chill out and wank himself off until you're ready, then we'll find you someone who can."

The redhead snorted.

Rosie was so good at giving advice to her friends that she herself would never follow.

"Have you talked to him about Tom?" She raised an eyebrow.

Ginny sighed and shook her head. "He tried to ask me about it once… but I just couldn't. How did you tell Cedric about Lockhart?"

She frowned. "Severus practically forced me to, but he didn't find out who it was until everyone else did."

"I felt better after though." Rose added.

"What if he thinks it's stupid, because it's not as bad as what happened to you?"

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, don't you ever let me catch you saying that again. Being traumatized isn't a competition." She glared.

"If Dean is confused, send him to me and I'll set him straight."

"Thanks Rosie." Her friend leaned on her shoulder.

"Now, you need to help me sneak out, and then I think you should go back to Little Whinging."

"Why do you need to sneak out?"

"Because your dad just found out that I slept with Charlie."

Ginny covered her mouth and laughed. "Oh god."

Her friend blushed deeper then. "Was he… good at it?" She asked.

Rosie bit her lip awkwardly. "Do you actually want to know?"

She nodded.

"He was very very good at it." Rose confirmed with a wink.

"Do you think you'll do it again?"

"I would in a heartbeat, but Severus has me banned from sex right now on account of never remembering to use contraception."

"You talk to Snape about sex?" Ginny's eyes widened.

"I talk to Severus about everything."

When Rosie arrived back home to Grimmauld, Moony had made her a big breakfast and seemed to be, once again, helicoptering around her. He'd been acting like that since her birthday. It also might have something to do with the fast approaching school year. She didn't even want to think about missing her godfather, lest she unleash her emotions.

"Everything ok?" He smiled.

"It will be. She's just… taking on more than she's prepared to handle."

"Honey, can I ask you something?"

Rosie nodded, sitting down at the table.

"Was Ginny sexually assaulted?"

She bristled uncomfortably at the term.

"Not exactly…" Rose started, "but she was pretty traumatized after her first year."

Moony sat down across from her and frowned.

"Ginny was possessed by the Dark Lord her first year at Hogwarts, my second."

Her godfather's eyebrows shot up.

"She was possessed?" He gasped.

"Mhm. He made her do all sorts of terrible things that she couldn't remember. So, if you think about it, it's basically the same as what happened to me."

"You can be very wise sometimes darling." Moony hummed.

"How did she find out what was going on?"

"I found her crying in the common room just after the winter holidays, and I thought that maybe Lockhart had… been with her too, because of the memory thing, so I took her to Severus, who figured it out."

"That must've been scary for you, to think he'd hurt someone else." Her godfather prompted.

"He probably has." Rosie sighed. "I'm sure I wasn't the first one. They might not remember though… makes me sick to think about."

"Oh honey, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Nah, it's fine. It's not like I ever forget. I'm lucky though. I've had Severus from the moment I found out, and then you, and Siri, and even Ced. Ginny's never had anyone. Her family basically just moved on and pretended it never happened."

"You know that I will always, always be here for you, right sweet pea?" Moony reached out to her.

"I know Moony." Rose tilted her head in confusion.

"And you know that if anything were bothering you, that you could tell me, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not mad about Kingsley."

The werewolf grimaced.

"I'm glad sweetie, but I was referring more to that prophecy."

Rosie chuckled. "Well I'm always worried about that."

"I've spoken with Albus, and he has given us the go ahead to keep training you while you're at school this year."

That was the best news she'd heard all week.

"Really?! Oh, thank god, that means I get to see you. I don't know how they expect children to leave their parents for that long." She sighed.

"I think it's just you that feels that way princess." He winked.

Rose crossed her arms. "Yeah well, excuse me for missing you."

"It is highly endearing sweetheart."

That evening, Remus had just finished cooking for Sirius and Rosie, who had gone up to their respective bedrooms. He was washing the dishes when Arthur Weasley came through the floo and into the kitchen.

"Arthur, good evening." The werewolf smiled.

"Remus, yes, hello. I wanted to speak with you actually, if you have a moment." The redheaded man sighed.

"Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly." He rubbed his face and sat down at the table. "I've just been made aware of something that I think you should know."

Remus frowned and sat down with the man who seemed nervous to continue.

"This morning I discovered that my second oldest son, Charlie, has taken certain… liberties with your Rose that he shouldn't have."

He held up a hand to stop Arthur. "Yes, I am aware."

"You knew?" He squinted.

"Indeed. Rosie is many things, but discreet is not one of them."

"Remus, I am so very sorry. I'm deeply ashamed to know that the boy I raised would pressure a girl so young into…"

Remus interrupted him again. "Arthur." He sighed. "I highly doubt that your Charlie pressured Rose into anything. I love that girl, more than anything, but she has a certain affinity for problematic sexual relationships."

The Weasley patriarch furrowed his brows. "You don't stop her from doing it?"

He snorted. "I'm her legal guardian, not her father. She wouldn't listen to me if I tried. Rosie has only ever listened to Severus, and even he hasn't been able to get her to stop…"

"Teenage girls." Arthur shook his head tiredly.

"Frankly, Arthur, I would prefer it be one of your sons than some of the others." He raised an eyebrow. "Though, you might want to remind Charlie that it is also his responsibility to remember the contraceptive spell."

"What? He slept with that girl and didn't use contraception?" The man gasped.

"Rosie has a very unfortunate habit of forgetting, and she's pretty good about letting someone know so she can take a potion after, but they're really hard on her body."

"Oh Merlin, Remus, I'm gonna kill him."

He smiled softly. "Don't be too hard on him. From what Rosie's told Sirius, he was good to her. Sometimes she gets in over her head and gets hurt, but this wasn't one of those times."

"I can't imagine how hard it must be… dealing with the things that she's been through. Molly and I were so shocked when that article came out last year."

Remus cringed. He didn't like when people made assumptions about Rose.

"She's a very strong girl. Everyone has their vices." Was all he said.

"You're right of course." He nodded. "Still, her circumstances are exceptional."

The werewolf thought back to Rosie's commentary on Ginny earlier. "I think that's why she and Ginny get along so well. They've really bonded over their shared experiences."

"I'm sorry?"

"Rosie told me about what happened in Ginny's first year."

Arthur rubbed his neck. "That's not exactly the same thing."

"Actually, Rose worded it in a way that made a lot of sense earlier. She said that they really understand each other because they were both forced to do things that they didn't want to, and then made to forget about it. If you think about it, it's very similar."

The man's eyes widened. "Has Ginny said something?"

Remus pursed his lips. "I don't want to violate Rosie's confidence in me, but I myself have heard Ginny mention and equate the experience with hers."

Arthur Weasley left the kitchen that night with a new perspective and Remus left with a headache. He hoped for her sake that Rosie had been following Severus' rules. It was so very frightening to know that on top of her great destiny, she was also so at risk for self-sabotage.

As he had every night since the potion incident, Remus poked his head into his goddaughter's room, watching for the soft rise and fall of her chest that accompanied her breathing. He only hoped that one day he she would understand just exactly how loved she was.

 **AN- Sorry was that ending part really cheesy? Lol**


	94. Chapter 94

**AN- Sorry for the spoiler, but I can't not include this. I need to give a trigger warning for suicide in this chapter.**

Rosie twitched and turned in her bed, moving through the long hallway in her dreams, longing to get to the end, desiring what she knew was on the other side of that door. She was smart enough to know when she awoke that this was the Dark Lord trying to lure her to the ministry, to retrieve the prophecy for him. It was really creepy that he could get inside her head like that, even when she put up occlumency shields every night before bed.

As was usual after these dreams, Rose woke up with a dull ache in her scar, her shirt wet with sweat.

It was the morning before she was to return to Hogwarts, and she had promised to meet Amos Diggory at eight. Moony was going to apparate her, but she was going to go alone, and he would bring her back.

Rosie knew it was pathetic, but she wore Cedric's quidditch jersey, and the bracelet he'd given her on her fourteenth birthday. Moony frowned when she came downstairs and kissed her head, tracing comforting circles on her back for a moment before offering his arm out to her.

Amos was waiting. His face broke out into a wide grin when he caught sight of her, and the man immediately went in for a hug.

"Rose, it's so good to see you lass." He patted her back, and Moony touched her hand briefly, making sure she was fine before apparating away.

Ced's dad had made her breakfast and seemed very interested in questioning Rosie about her future plans, her favorite classes, and her friends. She had to bend the truth a little bit in saying that she had any plans other than the ultimate standoff between herself and Voldemort and continuing to have sex in broom closets; though, it wasn't too hard to accentuate a bit.

Amos did ask her about the order though and whether or not she had officially joined. Rose told him that she hadn't, which was true. At the moment, she just sat in on meetings.

After breakfast, the man held out his hand to Rosie and she took it. He led her outside behind the garden towards a spot a little way ahead with two gravestones. Her heart thudded in her chest, stomach twisting nervously.

Cedric Diggory, 1977- 1995

Those who live deeply, do not fear death.

She could feel Amos' thumb rub across her hand soothingly, but all Rosie could do was fall to her knees on the cool patch of earth beside the gravestone. It was simple but meaningful, and it tore that wound on her heart open one more time.

There were no tears, but her breathing deepened and slowed, each shaky inhalation a reminder of just exactly how alive she was. Rose was alive and Cedric was dead.

Next to Cedric was his mother, Elizabeth Diggory, and there was an open spot beside hers, presumably for Amos when he eventually passed away.

"He loved you so much sir." Rosie whispered, staring beside her at the visibly upset man.

"I know he did." He choked. "He was a good boy, my Ced."

When she left that day, Amos pulled her into an impossibly tight hug, with tears pouring down his face outside of Grimmauld place. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a watch. It was the watch that he'd given Cedric for his seventeenth birthday, as was tradition in wizarding families. He had loved that watch.

"I want you to have this. Give it to someone you love, on their seventeenth." He whispered, dissolving into tears again.

"Sir, I couldn't." Rosie coaxed, rubbing his back.

"Please. Please take it."

They hugged one more time and then Amos smiled at her. "Keep his memory alive Rose. Don't let these ministry scoundrels convince anyone that he died in vain."

Her stomach did a flip. "Sir, we could get together over the holidays if you like." She suggested.

He pursed his lips and nodded jerkily. "Oh, I have no doubt we'll meet again Rose Potter."

Rosie thought that sounded weird.

For a couple hours after that she sat up in her room mulling over the visit. It had been really sad, and strange, and oddly final. She mulled it over, playing absentmindedly with the watch. Amos had given her Ced's watch, something that was almost always shared between a father and son.

It wasn't too much longer before panic descended right down from her brain into the pit of her stomach. He had given her his son's watch because he wasn't going to need it anymore.

Rosie was upright in an instant. She rushed down the stairs. Moony was at work, but Siri was there, staring off into space, nursing a cup of tea.

"Siri!" Rose nearly shrieked, her face an open book.

"What's wrong love?" He stood up, frowning at her.

She fell forward into his arms. "I think Amos Diggory is going to try to kill himself!"

"Rosie, what?"

"I couldn't figure out why he gave me Ced's watch… and the way he said goodbye was weird..." Her explanation was rushed and confusing.

"Honey, are you sure you weren't just reading too much into it?"

"Please Siri. We have to go check on him!" She pleaded.

Sirius rubbed his face and nodded, taking her hand and moving outside to where they could apparate.

The cottage was dark when they arrived. Siri hummed tensely and drew his wand, keeping Rosie close as he unlocked the door.

Amos Diggory was hanging by his neck from the ceiling. His eyes glassy and his head displaced at an odd angle. Her mouth fell open and she let out a terrified little cry.

Sirius cursed, loudly, and then grabbed her forcefully by the arm and pulled her around so that she was facing into his chest and away from the scene.

"Don't look precious." He muttered, holding her tighter and swearing some more.

It was too late. She'd already seen.

Siri seemed to be having a hard time deciding what exactly to do.

"Bloody fucking fuck." He growled. "I can't send a fucking patronus."

Rosie was beginning to tremble. She felt sick.

"Okay Prongslet, you just hold onto me." He sighed, apparating them away.

They arrived back at Grimmauld.

"Rose, go up to your room and stay there until someone comes to get you, okay?"

She didn't move.

"I can send a patronus from here."

"Honey…"

"To who?" She interrupted.

"Kingsley. We need Kingsley."

Rosie nodded and then shut her eyes, pushing out everything but the feeling of jumping off at Cassius point and the happiness in her ex-godfather's eyes.

The silvery bat sprung forward, and Siri spoke to it before she flicked it away, the handsome auror's face in her mind.

Rose was still in shock. Immediately after sending the patronus, she collapsed, and Siri had held her hair back while she vomited. Moony got in trouble at work for abandoning the store to come home. She didn't go back to Hogwarts on the train the next day. Instead, Severus came to Grimmauld and flooed with her back to his office.

Before allowing her back up to Gryffindor tower, Severus had taken her into his quarters and given her a thorough lecture about the temptations and consequences of suicide. After that, he had held her as she confessed that she sometimes wished that she could just die, but that seeing Mr. Diggory like that, especially so soon after she'd spoken to him, had been beyond anything that she'd ever imagined.

Rosie felt guilty. Had she only seen the signs sooner, perhaps it could've been stopped.

"Amos Diggory had lost everything child. This was inevitable." He tried to reassure.

It didn't feel inevitable to her though. There had to have been something that she could've said or done to prevent this.

She was still leaning on the potions master when he spoke again.

"Rose, there are people who live specifically for others, and when those others die, then it often becomes difficult to continue living."

"So, Amos was living for Ced?"

"That is the most likely scenario."

"Promise me that you won't do that Severus, if I die."

"Do not speak that way." He snapped.

"C'mon Severus, you know it might happen just as well as I do. I know you can't know the exact prophecy, but I'm sure you've got a few guesses."

"Enough."

"Severus…" She whined. Rosie hated when he got like this. Right now, she needed to talk about death. It was at the forefront of her mind.

"Rose, I do not wish to discuss this with you."

"At least promise that you'll try your best."

"To do what?" He glared.

"I don't know, live, if I die. Make a potion to cure lycanthropy or develop a new hex to castrate rapists."

"I will do both of those things and then off myself." Severus conceded.

Rosie thought he might be making a joke. She let out one of those little hysterical laughs that typically only Siri and Draco coaxed out of her, borne of depraved humor. Then she quieted again.

"Why did he do it like that? Isn't there an easier, magical way?"

Severus stiffened. "I have no desire to summarize to you the magical methods of suicide."

"Severus, I'm just curious…and confused. I'm not gonna do it, I promise. I would never do that to you or Moony on purpose."

Her guardian sighed long and low, placing a hand on her back.

"Can someone just like…cast the killing curse on themselves? I guess you could like cut up your wrists. That spell of yours would be pretty good for that, or is there like a lethal potion you could take?"

"No. You cannot cast the killing curse on yourself. It causes a recoil in your magic; however, the other methods that you have suggested are valid options."

"So why did he pick something so horrible?" Rosie looked at him with her eyes wide, glistening with unshed tears.

"It is often the case that males who attempt suicide use methods with higher violence but also higher success rates that actually result in death. For example, hanging. However, females often attempt suicide using potions and spells. There is a lower rate of death due to the uncertainty regarding the force or quantity behind the spell or potion."

"Did you ever know anyone who killed themselves Severus?"

The potions master was behaving particularly gentle with her, tucking a strand of her hair behind her left ear.

"My mother died by suicide." He told her softly, not a trace of emotion in his tone.

"What? Oh my god, Severus!" She threw herself at him in a hug.

He accepted her, because he always did, but didn't seem particularly distraught by the fact. Rosie knew that Severus had emotions, but most of the time he acted like a slab of stone carved into a sneer.

"Cedric would be so sad…" Rose sighed into his robes. "This summer was the worst. Even worse than the summer after first year when my uncle put bars on my window."

Severus growled. "Indeed, I have been meaning to inquire about your cupboard…the one with the small child-sized bed inside."

"You looked in Dudley's mind!" Rosie hissed.

Her guardian just nodded.

"I'm going to the feast now." She announced, patting his shoulder, and evading that particular topic again.

Moony had told the Weasleys who had told Hermione about Amos, so luckily, Rosie didn't have to answer questions about it. Her friends were solemn and quiet, but that wasn't what Rose paid attention to most during the feast. Apart from the fact that a quarter of Gryffindor house seemed to stare at her for the entirety of the meal, there had also been another change in staffing.

Beside Severus sat a short woman dressed entirely in pink, like from head to toe. She looked exactly like the person that the potions master would be least likely to sit next to, and Rosie could barely fathom that this woman was the new defense teacher.

She had gotten up to make an announcement, interrupting Dumbledore's speech in order to give a lecture on ministry policies for education.

Rose was humbled by the support that Gryffindor house showed her in the face of the Prophet articles and the ministry's opposition over the summer. She knew that she was well liked in her house, and that several of the older students had become fairly protective of her after the Lockhart stuff, but she had expected more doubt on their part.

Fred and George were pretty influential in the upper years, so that helped, and Dean was also quite popular, so he was able to speak up for Rosie too.

There were a select group of Gryffindor students who did buy into the prophet propaganda, but they mostly just skirted around her, afraid that she might suddenly collapse into a fit of rape trauma at any moment.

The first three nights after finding Amos, Rosie had vicious nightmares. She woke up sweating and shaking, tears pouring down her face, the image of the same pair of eyes staring at her on two different faces burned forever into her memories.

The first night back at Hogwarts, she had sought out Severus, who took her into his quarters and made her hot chocolate like he knew Moony did, sitting with her in silence.

The second night, Hermione had sat up with her for hours. Her friend had tried to distract her, and they got onto the subject of boys.

"You know, I almost had to put Ron in a body bind when he found out about you and Charlie." She lectured.

Rosie wiped the tears from her eyes and smirked. "Yeah Fred and George were pissed.

"Honestly Rose, I don't understand your infatuation with older men. In the muggle world, you and Charlie sleeping together is actually illegal!"

"Mione, you wouldn't understand. I need to be with someone experienced, so that I don't have to think too much. I can't do the fumbling around stuff. It just ends up making me upset."

"Wait…how many guys have you been with?" Her friend raised an eyebrow.

"Er… including or not including Lockhart?"

"Definitely not including him."

"Mm. Three then, almost four."

"Are you serious? Who? When?"

Hermione was so funny sometimes.

"Well, Ced was my first, after Lockhart… and almost Krum, but we got interrupted, and then Charlie…"

"That's only three." Mione observed.

"Yeah, I don't want to tell you who the fourth one is."

"Aw Rosie c'mon please! I would tell you."

"Well, I may or may not have occasional, casual sex with Malfoy…"

Her mouth dropped open. "You're joking. Draco Malfoy? You hate each other. He's so…foul."

"Yeah, it's kinda like a semi-masochistic thing, since the Longbottom party. We sort of became tentative friends."

"Wait, while you were with Cedric? Did he know?"

Rosie bit her lip. "No, Ced never knew. We were pretty inconspicuous…There's Pansy to think of and all."

"Oh my god Rose… that's, well, I didn't expect that."

"Yeah, I don't usually expect it either. It just happens sometimes. Don't you dare tell Ron." She threatened playfully.

"God, no I won't." Mione swore.

The other girl stayed with her, chatting for a few more minutes and then crawled back into her own bed when Rosie could hold a steady smile. Hermione didn't understand her like Ginny did, but she certainly gave it her best effort most of the time. She really did have good friends.

On the third day back to Hogwarts was their first defense lesson. Rosie was already apprehensive about the new professor, and Severus had warned her up and down to be quiet and polite. However, after the first class, it seemed that Rose would be fighting a losing battle with that advice.

Professor Umbridge did not want to teach them how to do any defensive magic. She had assigned a first-year style textbook for the class, which was specifically titled, 'Basics for Beginners.'

Dean, who had sat next to her, was becoming increasingly more agitated every time the woman opened her mouth. It only took a few more moments before he shot his hand up into the air.

"Yes, Mr. Thomas… is it?" The professor smiled falsely.

"Excuse me professor. I'm just not sure how theoretical knowledge is going to help us protect ourselves. There's nothing in this book about using defensive spells." Dean began.

Ron made a noise of agreement from where he sat with Mione.

The professor made an odd little squeaking sound. "Using defensive spells? Why I can't think of any reason why you would need to use defensive spells in my classroom."

"We're not going to be doing magic?" Parvati piped up from behind.

"You will be learning about defensive spells in a controlled, risk-free environment."

Rosie tried to zip her mouth shut, but Dean kept egging the woman on.

"Ma'am, if we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free." He countered.

"It is the view of the ministry, that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which is what school is all about." Umbridge cooed.

"How's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Ron asked.

"There is nothing, out there, as you say Mr. Weasley. Afterall, who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?"

That was the line for Rosie. She knew it was a bad idea, and she knew that Severus would be cross with her, but she couldn't help it. Amos' bloody last words to her were to defend the death of his son.

"Hm. Perhaps Lord Voldemort." She interrupted loudly, glaring at the professor.

The class seemed to bristle at the name.

Professor Umbridge turned to her peers and grinned widely.

"Now, let me make this very clear. You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a falsehood. There is no danger to you or anyone else."

Rosie stood up then, slamming her hand down on the desk. "So according to you, Cedric Diggory just dropped dead of his own accord then?"

"Mr. Diggory's death was nothing more than a tragic accident!" Her tone raised in pitch now.

"Tell that to the person who watched the light leave his eyes." She stood tall. "It was not an accident. It was the killing curse, and it was on purpose. Voldemort is back."

"Detention Miss Potter." Umbridge cut into the silence. "And do take this note to Professor McGonagall if you will." She added, writing something down quickly on a small piece of pink parchment paper.

Rose stood up quickly and collected to note, leaving the classroom and heading towards the transfiguration professor's office.

She knocked lightly on the door and her head of house looked up, eyes widening in surprise.

"Miss Potter, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The stern woman smiled at her.

"Hi professor. I'm afraid nothing good. I've been sent here by Professor Umbridge and told to give you this note. I might have yelled at her in class today…" Rosie confessed, biting her lip.

The woman sighed and motioned for her to have a seat, taking the note.

"If you want, I can just go right down to Severus. He'll punish me worse than anyone else. Then maybe I'll learn a lesson."

"That will not be necessary Potter. Rose. Would you like a biscuit?" She offered, holding out a tin.

Rosie shook her head.

"I understand that things have not been easy for you these past few years Rose. Albus has painted quite a disturbing picture of the trauma you must be dealing with on top of Mr. Diggory, dear Amos, and your unique responsibilities with regard to the order…"

She was paying attention now. How much did her professor know?

"As much as I understand Rose, I cannot do anything to counteract this detention, which you will be expected to attend tonight at seven, provided that you are comfortable attending it in the defense office."

"Oh, yeah, I'm ok to be in there now, since Moon…er, Remus, was teaching."

"You are a very strong girl. I admire your conviction to tell the truth, but if you can, try to keep the truth out of the ears of Delores Umbridge. She will only use it to try and bait you."

"I know. I'm sorry professor, I'm just… too much like my dad sometimes, if you ask Severus. I can't help what comes out of my mouth."

"Well, he is certainly not wrong. You have; however, been known to show impressive restraint when absolutely necessary. In this situation, I would advise you to do the same."

"I'll try ma'am." Rosie nodded, and she meant it.

She really would give it a go, but first she had to survive detention.


	95. Chapter 95

Rosie got her period just after her talk with Professor McGonagall, so she went back to her dorm to lie down for an hour before potions. In Severus' class, she tried to pay attention, but she kept nodding off. It wasn't her fault; Rose was conditioned now to fall asleep to her guardian's voice talking about potions. Luckily, she was a lost cause at that point, so Severus hadn't bothered her for it.

She wanted to stay after class for a hug, but Severus ended late, and Rosie wanted to have a chance to eat dinner before detention. Making her way to the great hall slowly, she was interrupted by Draco Malfoy, who darted his hand out and pulled her with him into a broom closet. She supposed that this could be substituted for a hug.

"Good evening to you too." Rosie giggled.

He didn't even speak, just pushed her back up against the wall and attacked her mouth. Rose responded eagerly, gripping his shirt and pulling him closer, cupping the back of his neck with her other hand to draw him in.

It was rough and hot, and Rosie wanted nothing more than to continue, but she had to stop him before things got carried away.

"Malfoy, stop." She said clearly, pushing back on his chest.

The boy stepped off her and growled. "Fuck Potter, you're such a bloody tease."

"I can't, not today. I'm on my period."

Draco's head fell onto her chest defeatedly. "Shit. That blows."

"Are you alright" Rose asked then, patting his back.

"Yeah, I'm just fucking great." He barked aggressively, taking on an attitude that simultaneously reminded her of both Severus and Sirius.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No, I don't fucking wanna talk about it."

Malfoy was pissed about something, and Rosie was ready and willing to be the one he took it out on.

"Just give me something to wank to then." He sighed, capturing her lips with his again and sliding a hand up her sweater, groping at her breast through the material of her bra.

Rose laughed and dug her nails into his shoulder, accepting the furious attention.

They had just developed a steady rhythm again, when there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Miss Potter, Mr. Malfoy. Kindly exit the closet." Severus drawled from outside.

Malfoy cursed, but Rosie broke out into a fit of giggles. Severus had never encountered her with a boy before.

Her guardian bristled with discomfort as she opened the door, purposefully straightening her sweater while she did so. Malfoy was red-faced. She hadn't seen him embarrassed before.

"Hi, professor Snape." Rosie smiled.

"Potter." He nodded curtly. She resisted the urge to stick out her tongue.

"Take ten points from Gryffindor, and fifteen from Slytherin." The potions master stated.

"That's not really fair to Slytherin sir." Rose interjected.

"Take five more points from Slytherin."

Malfoy hit her arm. "Potter shut up." He hissed.

"Mr. Malfoy, I will see you in detention tomorrow night at seven. Potter, you will receive detention with me, now."

"I can't Professor. I have detention already with Professor Umbridge at seven."

"In the reverse then." His glare deepened.

"Yes sir." She beamed. Rosie would get her hug the next day. Severus definitely hated her though.

Draco was staring at her, obviously confused by her attitude and the lack of repercussion.

"Walk with me Draco." Severus commanded then, motioning for Rose to leave.

The potions master waited for his Rose to disappear around the corner before opening his mouth.

"Draco. Is it worth it?" He asked, glaring. "The Dark Lord would have absolutely no qualms at the prospect of invading your mind, and were he to discover that you have concealed this particular…relationship…"

"It's nothing more than physical professor." The boy spat.

He had to stifle a cringe at that.

"Can you not procure another female student, less… high profile, to continue this charade with?"

"It's not just that sir." The boy flushed. "Potter's just… got something about her, it's addictive."

"Is it perhaps the ease at which you can manipulate her, or the submissiveness to your every whim that feeds the attraction? How very like your father." He curled his lip.

"I'm not like that Professor." The boy nearly growled. "I don't rape her."

"I spoke nothing of rape. I was merely pointing out a possible explanation for your fascination with the Gryffindor Golden Girl."

"Why do you care?" He spat back.

The boy was becoming annoyingly insolent with the return of the Dark Lord.

"I do not. However, your father has requested that I monitor your activities, and were he to hear of this, I am sure he would be most displeased."

"I don't give a shit what you tell him. I don't want to be involved in this."

"As you wish." He drawled then, turning up his nose.

Obviously, the boy was not concerned with Severus' opinion at this time. He'd force the Slytherin to scrub the worst of the first-year cauldrons that evening, for Rose of course.

Professor Umbridge's office was every bit as awful as Rose had pictured it. It was so pink. There were plates decorating every inch of wall space, each one displaying a different magically charmed kitten. The mewling was extremely distracting, like nails on a chalkboard, though it was almost a relief.

The office did not resemble Lockhart's what so ever.

"Good evening Miss Potter." Umbridge smiled sweetly. She was adding pink sugar to her tea.

Rosie didn't say anything back.

"Please sit."

She did as was asked, noticing a large quill and a blank piece of paper in front of her on the desk.

Lines.

That wouldn't be so bad.

"You will please write, 'I must not tell lies."

Rose sighed. "How many times professor?"

"As many as it takes for the message to, shall we say, sink in." Her tone was ominous.

Turning towards the paper, she picked up the quill and then furrowed her brows.

"Erm… you haven't given me any ink."

"You won't need any." The woman giggled softly.

Experimentally, Rosie touched the tip of the odd quill to the parchment and began to write.

 _I must not tell lies._

The ink was a brilliant, crimson red. It took a few seconds before she realized why. The sensation began as an itch and quickly evolved into a burn. Her left hand twitched and stung. The words that Rose had just copied onto the paper, were being mirrored on the back of her own hand.

The quill was writing in her blood.

Siri's voice echoed in her head.

 _Remember, he's got your blood. He can do all sorts of messed up shit with that._

She could not let this happen. Professor Umbridge would not be yet another person to collect her blood.

Severus was going to be so fucking mad.

Rosie bit her lip and looked up. Umbridge was looking at her.

Hoping to avoid conflict until she could safely escape, Rose put her head down and kept writing. She could handle a bit of pain.

It seemed to take eons to fill up the long piece of parchment with words, in part because she had a small script, but the fact that her hand was being sliced open with every letter didn't help much.

She fought the tears, unwilling to let this awful hag see her cry, and pushed through it. It wasn't as bad as the Cruciatus or being raped. It was just a sting. At least that's what she told herself.

Rosie's breathing was labored by the end of the detention and her hand looked absolutely disgusting. She desperately hoped that Severus had something to prevent this from scarring. One hideous scar was enough for a lifetime.

When the parchment paper was full, Rose stood up.

"I'm finished." She stated plainly.

Umbridge grinned again. Her smile was quickly moving its way up on the list of worst expressions of delight in the world; right behind Voldemort and Lockhart of course.

"I'll have that." The professor held her hand out for the paper and Rosie pulled back.

"Actually, I'm not in the habit of giving out my blood just for the hell of it."

The woman nodded slowly and then reached out and took hold of Rose's wrist, the one that didn't contain the paper. Her jumble of rings felt cold against her skin, and she had her plump wrist pressed uncomfortably on the fresh wound.

"Have it your way Miss Potter, but I know that deep down you realize that you deserve to be punished. You are no innocent little girl. You know that."

Her gaze was almost as piercing as Severus' and for a moment Rosie fell for it. She was guilty of a lot of things. She wasn't innocent.

Lockhart, Cedric, Amos. Maybe she did deserve this.

The fog didn't lift until she was safely away from the defense office once again, paper still tucked into her clenched fist. Rose was guilty, but she didn't deserve to be injured by her defense professor, not again. She did not tell lies, minor fibs maybe, but not lies.

Still, her stomach churned with nerves. She wanted to go see Severus, to cry and tell him what Umbridge had done, but she didn't want him to do anything rash. Rose didn't want him to hurt the professor.

She put the parchment on the ground in the middle of the corridor and took out her wand, lighting it on fire and watching it burn to ash. Rosie vanished the ashes and then headed up to the owlery. She had an idea.

Putting pen to paper once again, Rose began to write.

 _Dear Kingsley,_

 _I know this is out of the blue, me writing you. I just had something happen here at school that I think is illegal, and I don't think that Severus or the headmaster can do anything about it without risking their jobs._

 _I was in detention today with Professor Delores Umbridge, and she made me write lines with a quill that used my blood instead of ink. It carved the words into my hand. I don't think she's supposed to do that, and I thought maybe you would know what to do._

 _Don't worry, I burned the paper that had my blood on it after._

 _Please help. You can tell Remus if you want, but if you do, please also tell him not to worry and that I'm fine and love him._

 _Thanks Kingsley,_

 _Rosie Potter._

Rose wondered if Kingsley knew that Moony was a werewolf. That night, she headed right back up to her dorm and soaked her hand in water for a long time, dodging Hermione's questions. She'd have to be elusive in detention with Severus the next night to make sure he didn't notice her hand.

Her period was annoyingly heavy and after a shower, Rosie was ready for bed. She slept early and woke the next morning with the dull ache still present in her hand.

Rose had dreamt of Amos and Cedric, together outside the tent at the world cup. It was surprisingly peaceful.

There was quidditch practice first thing that morning and she was psyched. It had been so long since she'd played. Grabbing her firebolt from her trunk and resizing it, Rose did her hair in braids and headed down to the pitch in her uniform.

The Gryffindor uniform, which fit well in her third year, was now much too tight across her chest and hugged her hips just a bit too much. She certainly was getting older and Rosie wasn't the only one who noticed. The twins were on her the moment she hit the stands. They pulled her aside frowning.

"Not to be a creep Rosie dearest, but would you be totally offended if we altered you top there?"

She balked.

"Yeah." Fred backed up his brother. "There's this new guy, Cormac Mclaggen, he's a bloody perv, watching all the girls."

George pointed through the stands and onto the field. Sure enough, there was a brutish Krum-like boy stretching next to Angelina Johnson, his eyes following the dark-skinned girl as she laughed.

Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of their request, Rosie held her arms out to the sides. Fred drew his wand and enlarged her uniform shirt just enough so that it hung on her, instead of clinging to her frame.

"Men." She giggled. "Merlin forbid Ginny doesn't date Dean for the rest of her life. I pity the poor boy that looks at her next."

"Dean's a good bloke…" George started, "But don't think we haven't threatened him with a fate worse than death once or twice." Fred finished, eying her evilly.

Rosie winked. "Did Charlie get back to Romania ok?" She asked in a sing-songy voice.

George glared. "Don't ever mention that name again." He pretended to gag.

"Mmm." Rose moaned dramatically. "I don't know how I'll manage that."

The boys were thoroughly repulsed by the time that they pulled her out onto the field. Oliver gave her a hug and so did Katie and Angelina. They hadn't been a team in so long it was going to be interesting to see how rusty they were.

This was the first time she'd ever gotten to practice with her firebolt, and Rosie enjoyed every minute of it. She was sweaty after, and by the time she had actually made her way back up to the dorm to shower and change, she was running late for arithmancy.

Professor Vector never minded, but Rose was rushing, scurrying down the hallway quickly when somebody called her name from the side corridor. She turned and came face to face with the head girl badge.

It was Meadow, followed by another older Ravenclaw boy that she didn't recognize. He was wearing the familiar head boy badge.

Her stomach recoiled. The badge appeared out of place on somebody else, and she couldn't stop staring at it.

Meadow held out a hand and placed it on Rosie`s arm. She cringed, but didn`t pull away.

"Rose. Hey, I just wanted to say that I know we've not gotten along in the past, but that I'm so sorry about what happened at the end of last year… and I hope we can start over, for Cedric."

The stupid girl looked like she was about to start crying.

Rosie hated her in the moment.

She jerked her arm back then and held out a hand. "I don't think so Meadow. Have a good day."

Rose turned to leave stiffly, but the girl reached out again.

"Rose. Please. I don't want there to be bad blood between us. I feel like Ced dying was like a wake up call for me that life is like so short, and there's no time to have enemies."

"Oh, bloody fucking hell we were never friends. You slept with my boyfriend and then he died. We don't even need to speak. You're nothing. Just leave me be."

Meadow's face fell. "I just thought you might need a friend right now. I know that it can't be easy to have so many people not believe you."

Rosie just shook her head. "Just fuck off Meadow. If you want to do me a favor, then you'll stay the hell away from me."

The new head boy was gaping at her as she cursed out the head girl.

"Fine, Rose. Fine, but just, I'm here if you need anything." She reiterated.

Rose was so uncomfortable she thought she might explode.

Without another word, she left the blonde girl behind to explain herself to the new Ced and blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. Now she was extra late to arithmancy and on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Why did that awful girl have to butt into everything?

Miraculously, Rosie was able to quell the crying and take a few deep breaths to stabilize herself. Meadow and Cedric had been friends, and she'd always been jealous of that, even before she'd slept with him…but Rose was the one who Amos wanted to see before he died. She was the one who had meant that much to Ced. It helped to tell herself that.

The rest of the day was pretty relaxed. She didn't have defense that day and had only one period of potions. If Severus noticed her foul mood, he did not comment.

After dinner, when it was time for detention, Rose waited for her guardian to get up from the head table and then bid her friends goodbye. Ginny squeezed her arm in support as she stood up, knowing that she'd had a crappy day.

Severus had given her lines to write as well, though the quill that he had given her did not mark the paper in her own blood.

"What do you want me to write sir?" Rosie eyes him.

" _I will have more respect for myself."_ He uttered smoothly, appraising her.

She glared. "I do have respect for myself. If you guys don't want us to have sex in broom cupboards, then you should open up more of the old drawing rooms."

The potions master sneered at her. "Do as I say."

"Yes, Professor Snape sir." Rose grumbled in return.

She wrote about half a page of lines before getting frustrated and slamming the quill down onto the desk, her mind wandering to the morning.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Is there something troubling you?"

"Meadow tried to talk to me today." She revealed.

"Ah."

"She tried to apologize, or something. I told her to shove it."

"You should not speak that way to the head girl." He chided.

"Well she shouldn't have fucked my boyfriend."

"Language Rose. You will not take that tone with me."

"Whatever Severus." Rosie hissed, crossing her arms.

"Child, you are trying my patience."

"You're the one who asked!" Rose exploded. "I didn't want to talk to her in the first place! I can't stand her! Who sleeps with someone else's boyfriend anyways?"

Her guardian pursed his lips then. "Might I remind of your own current entanglement with Mr. Malfoy."

"That's different."

Severus let out a snort. "In what way?"

"Pansy's a bitch."

"Rose Lily Potter. That is enough out of you. You will curb that foul mouth this instant or I will do it for you. Perhaps you should evaluate your own behavior before you displace your judgement onto somebody else." He snapped.

She shut her mouth and picked up the quill again, resuming her lines angrily, pressing the tip of the quill too hard into the parchment.

After a few more moments of silence Rose spoke again.

"I'm just jealous. I'm not like her, and I wish I was, and I hate that she gets to miss Cedric too."

"I know." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Am I a bad person Severus?"

"No Rose. Not by nature, but I do wish that you would put more focus into changing your negative attitude as of late."

She bit her lip, mulling over his words as she continued to write.


	96. Chapter 96

Rosie was expecting Moony to be upset when he heard about the detention with Professor Umbridge, but she was not expecting him to storm the headmaster's office the day before the full moon.

The new head boy had come to the potion's classroom during a lesson a few days after she had sent Kingsley the letter and requested that she come with him to see Dumbledore.

The majority of the class did not register the alarmed expression that passed across the face of the potions master, but Rosie cursed the awful timing. There was no way he wouldn't ask her the reason for the meeting.

Sighing, she got up and followed Cedric's replacement out of the classroom. They walked awkwardly, and in silence for a few moments, and then the boy spoke.

"I'm Eric, by the way." He introduced.

"Rose." She said back curtly.

"Er, yeah. I remember. Meadow told me what happened between you two last year."

Rosie ignored him.

"You know, I think she feels pretty bad about it. She seems like a nice girl."

Grinding her teeth, Rose stopped, put her hands on her hips, and looked up at him.

"I'm not interested in talking to Meadow. I prefer not to think of Cedric's mistakes on a regular basis. Thanks."

Severus had to give her credit this time. She wasn't exploding.

"Sorry. I get that… I shouldn't have brought it up."

They fell into uncomfortable silence again.

"So… maybe we could hang out sometime, a Hogsmeade weekend or something?" He interrupted.

Rosie had to crush her lips together to prevent from letting out an agitated laugh.

"Eric. I'm sorry, but I'm not interested." She replied tightly. "I already dated one head boy and that nearly destroyed me."

"Sorry. Nevermind then." He looked away.

The tension was thick now, and Rosie nearly burst with relief at the sight of the familiar gargoyle.

"Treacle tart." Eric spoke again and the gargoyle sprung to life. "See you around Rose."

Moony was speaking urgently when she walked in and Rose could tell even as he faced away from her that his lips were pursed tightly.

Kingsley turned towards her and smiled.

"Rose. Hello. I am here to follow up on your concern." He winked.

Her guardian and the headmaster turned their attention to her then too. Moony's expression changed forcefully from a grimace to a grin.

"Hey Princess." He motioned her forward.

She gave him a hug and a kiss and then, holding onto his arm, she turned to the other two.

"Sorry I didn't tell you Professor; I just wasn't sure if it would be best to tell you or Kingsley, plus I didn't want Severus to know."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Indeed, I fear that we might have been out a defense professor were you to have confided this in our beloved potions master."

"You should still be out a defense professor Albus. This is too far." Moony interrupted, his voice unusually sharp.

"I appreciate the sentiment Remus, but I am afraid that I retain very little control in the matter of Delores Umbridge. I cannot expel her from Hogwarts."

"Christ. I swear to god I'll pull her out of this bloody school if that hag so much as looks at her the wrong way again headmaster." Her guardian growled, his amber eyes flashing.

Rosie was shocked into silence. Moony never spoke like this.

"Remus…" Kingsley's deep voice cautioned. "I will launch an inquiry against Delores, but I need more time to collect evidence. I can't go off of Rose's word alone."

"I'm not going to let another fucking defense teacher go after my kid." He made to slam his hand down on the desk but clenched it into a fist instead.

"Moony, I'm ok." Rosie started. "It was my fault for letting her bait me."

"No." He stated firmly. "Honey, none of this has ever been your fault. Maybe it's best if I take her out of school this year. Sirius, Severus and I can tutor her."

Rose actually wouldn't mind that, if she were being honest.

Dumbledore paled slightly and rubbed his face. "Remus my boy, how about a compromise?"

Her guardian's eyes narrowed, and he rubbed her arm.

"We will permit dear Rose to withdraw from defense this term."

She coughed. "Um, I don't want to be ungrateful sir, but I don't think I'm getting that many OWLs, and I was kinda counting on defense being one of them."

"Sirius and I can teach you the curriculum, then you could write the exam." Moony offered.

"I do believe that Severus would enjoy the role of defense professor for a change as well." Dumbledore added.

"Not with me he wouldn't. He hates using magic against me. The only spell he's ever taught me on purpose was one of those nasty ones for protection."

"What spell was that?" Kingsley asked offhandedly.

Rosie raised an eyebrow at him. "Nothing…" She replied, suspicious of his casual tone.

The man raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, I'll ask again when I'm not on the job." He laughed.

Moony cracked a smile too and she frowned. He looked dreadful.

"The full moon is tomorrow night, right?" Rosie asked.

Her godfather tensed, his eyes flashing with panic.

Fuck.

"Full moon?" Kingsley questioned amusedly. "What, are you scared of werewolves?"

Rose tried to backpedal. "Er… yup. Super terrified. Remus keeps track of the lunar cycle for me, so I know not to go sneaking around those nights."

She used her guardian's proper name, not wanting him to connect Moony with moon in that moment.

The auror shook his head and laughed, puzzled by her odd answer.

"Oh well, we try to make sure that all registered werewolves are in a secure transformation spot on the full moon. Most of them live in colonies far away from here though."

"Mm. That's good." Rosie nodded awkwardly.

The headmaster cleared his throat and clapped his hands together. "Well then, I think that's settled, and Rose, do encourage any other victims of Professor Umbridge's detention to come forward." He smiled genially.

She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she wouldn't be returning to defense class with Umbridge. Moony seemed satisfied too, and thoroughly relieved that the full moon slip had gone over Kingsley's head.

Her godfather must really like the auror. Rosie swore she would kill the man if he ever treated Moony any differently because of the wolf thing, when he did eventually find out of course. Siri would help her.

Severus was annoyed when he found out.

"You have…unenrolled in defense, at a time when learning to defend yourself is most crucial?" He glared.

"Severus! Moony threatened to take me out of school, this was the only way to appease him." She used her guardian as an excuse.

"And why pray tell would your normally passive godfather suddenly decide to compromise your education?"

"He doesn't like the way Professor Umbridge is treating me." She bit her lip, playing with the truth. "Something about being tired of abusive defense professors."

"I see… and Albus has agreed to this withdrawal?"

"It was his compromise."

"So, your wolf and Black will be in charge of your defense education moving forward? Will you still be writing your OWL examination?"

"Yes, and yes. You can help too if you want." Rosie tried to make it sound like a request."

"Perhaps. Though I believe it prudent to focus on mental assaults at this time. Are you still dreaming of the ministry frequently?"

"Yeah, at least a few times a week. He's got to realize that it's not working." Rose sighed, referring to the Dark Lord.

"I have no knowledge of the reasons behind these dreams aside from an attempt to lure you to the ministry. The Dark Lord still questions my loyalty. Others are still held above me in his confidence."

"Others like who?"

"At the moment, the Malfoys are within the inner circle. There are several others that currently reside in Azkaban that I am sure he'll attempt to free. The Lestranges for example."

"As in Bellatrix Lestrange?" She gasped.

"And Rodolphus. What do you know of Bellatrix?" His tone was displeased.

Rose shrugged. "Neville told me what she did to his parents."

"Yes. Bella is known to play with her victims for far longer than necessary."

She shivered at the mental image, and the fact that Severus seemed to be on friendly terms with the woman.

"Are there any new death eaters? Or are they mostly the same from before?"

The potions master appraised her. "The majority are leftovers from the first war… only one did not return to his service, and he was disposed of. However, several others, such as Dolohov and Greyback are new recruits."

Rosie gulped. "Greyback? Like the werewolf?"

"I do not understand how you've become so well acquainted with magical villains."

"Greyback and I have a date…one day." She drawled.

"Rose Lily, that is absolutely too far. You will not be partaking in any sort of date with grown male death eaters…most especially Greyback. Do you understand?" He nearly growled.

"Not that kind of date…" Rosie began, but Severus wasn't listening well. "Yes sir. No dating Greyback, got it." She finished, suppressing a smile.

Severus dispatched Rose from his office for dinner and sighed, rubbing his temples. The girl was insufferable sometimes.

Using the floo in his office, Severus headed over to Grimmauld place to discuss matters with the wolf.

The two marauders were nursing identical glasses of firewhiskey in silence when Severus stepped into the house.

"Severus." Lupin greeted, setting down his glass. Black just glared.

"Lupin. Care to explain the reason behind the forced removal of Rose from defense class."

"You pulled Rosie out of defense?" Black questioned, shooting his friend a look.

The wolf held up his hands defensively. "I acted, as her legal guardian, to ensure that she is protected while at school."

"The girl seems to be under that impression that had this not been agreed to, she would have been removed from Hogwarts entirely. Please, enlighten me. Why do you feel that you've achieved the right to remove Rose from her education?"

"Severus. Rose approached Kingsley with a concern regarding Professor Umbridge, and I acted to ensure that her concern would be dealt with."

"What was the complaint?" He pressed.

"You should ask Rose yourself.

"Lupin." He hissed.

"Stay out of it Sniv. You're not Rosie's guardian. If she wanted you to know, she'd tell you." Black interjected.

Severus fingered his wand.

"Listen. I'm sure Rosie will tell you. She was just scared that you'd fly off the handle, so just don't make her right Severus. Rose worries a lot about you."

He sighed and clenched his fist. Apparently, these two buffoons would not be giving anything up to him that night.

Luckily, Albus was more forthcoming.

"Blood quills?" Severus sneered.

"Indeed. I was most aggrieved to hear that once again a member of my staff is acting illegally."

"How many times?"

He knew that the headmaster would understand the question.

"Rose has only admitted to serving one detention with Delores. She sent a letter to Mr. Shacklebolt directly afterwards."

"I see."

"Do indulge an old man's curiosity for a moment my boy. I was not aware that Miss. Potter was on a first name basis with Kingsley."

"He is privately engaged with Lupin." Severus wrinkled his nose.

The man's blue eyes twinkled amusedly. "I understand much better now why our Rose so quickly developed a fear of werewolves this afternoon at the mention of the full moon."

"Yes, she is rather protective of the wolf."

"Rose is so fiercely protective of everyone that she loves it seems. She chose to keep the detention from you for fear of retribution on your part."

"I do not know where she gets that idea from. Rose is well aware that I am capable of restraint. The fact that Gilderoy Lockhart ever made it to trial is a testament to that."

"Of course, you are right Severus, but she does worry ever so much. How has she been coping?"

"She has been acting out. Rose has been engaging more overtly with undesirable people and has been particularly aggressive in her dialogue over the past several weeks."

"With whom is she engaged?" Albus pursed his lips.

"Draco Malfoy, of all people. She no longer attempts to hide the affiliation from me."

"That's… unexpected. Are you positive that they're not simply experimenting with the sting of forbidden love?"

Severus had to scoff at that. "Quite. There is no _love_ between the pair of them."

"Mm. And Mr. Diggory? How is she handling the loss?"

"Amos brought her down again, but I believe she is doing as well as is reasonable. Rose seems to be most bothered by the prophecy. She does not feel prepared to do what it asks of her, and I've had to stop her from sharing the contents with me on several occasions."

"Perhaps you could aid her in it's fulfillment in a manner unique to your ability." He began cautiously.

"Albus, don't' play games with me. What is it you need done?"

"I would like Rose to learn the Avada Kedavra."

He froze, and it took a moment to collect himself enough to respond. "No. Absolutely not."

"Severus." He looked at him over the rims of his half-moon spectacles.

"She is a child." Severus spat.

"A child who will not remain a child much longer. You are the only person who can teach her that spell with the tact and dignity that she deserves in the process."

"I do not want her to…split herself in that way. Split her soul." His voice was rough with reluctance.

"I retain hope that it will not come to that my boy, but in the event that it is necessary, I need her to be fully capable of such a feat."

"She will resist Albus. Rose will not agree to learn it."

"I think she will see the necessity of the knowledge Severus. I urge you to broach the subject with her, as a part of her new defense lessons."

He groaned and rubbed his temples.

"Alas, she cannot stay a baby forever." The headmaster offered.

"To me, she can." He replied solemnly.

Severus left Albus' office that night in a foul mood. He had been just about to crack open a bottle of Ogden's finest when the familiar stab of pain through his left arm distracted him. As if the evening could deteriorate any more than it already had.

Rose swore she had put up her occlumency shields that night before she'd gone to bed. She always did.

The dream began like any other but shifted quickly from randomized people and places to one specific place. The room was large, dark and empty. In the center was a table long enough to seat an army.

It was Voldemort that she felt first. Rosie couldn't see him… because she was him. Her eyes opened into thin slits and she waited.

Lucius Malfoy arrived first along with a woman who could only be Draco's mother. They moved forward and took turns kneeling to kiss the hem of her or perhaps the Dark Lord's robes. It felt oddly degrading.

Every death eater that arrived afterwards did the same thing, though some of them bowed lower than others, called him master instead of 'my lord'. Everyone seemed to have a different way of greeting the snake-like man.

Rosie felt an uncomfortable tension, like she was waiting for something. As the death eaters gathered together in a circle, she realized what it was. Severus hadn't arrived yet.

Voldemort started to speak before her guardian arrived. He talked of secrecy, and the desired prophecy. He spoke of silent raids, inconspicuous acts of violence that would not raise suspicion.

Rose didn't think he knew that she was in his head.

The conversation was long and quite boring, and Rosie felt like she might have been just about to sever the connection, to drift away, when a door slammed from somewhere nearby. Voldemort spoke again, his voice high pitched and amused.

"It seems that Severus had returned with our new recruits."

Severus' name jarred her into consciousness once again. The realization was so abrupt that the Dark Lord brought his hand up to his head and winced. Rosie's stomach clenched nervously. She didn't know how to get out of this dream. What if this was real? What if he could hear her? Severus could be in danger.

No. Not Severus. Professor Snape.

The Professor Snape came into view then closely followed by a few older boys, maybe Cedric's age. One of them, she recognized as Adrian Pucey, a chaser on the Slytherin quidditch team that had graduated the previous year.

Snape was recruiting students? Rose never paid much attention to what he did when it came to Slytherin business.

"As usual, you've outdone yourself Severus." Rosie hissed.

The professor moved to kiss the hem of her robes and greeted Voldemort with a firm 'My Lord.'

"What news do you bring from Hogwarts?"

"Potter's been pulled from defense class due to conflicts with the professor."

"She will remain untrained?"

"No. She will be trained privately by her guardian and Sirius Black."

"Remind me again, who is her legal guardian?"

"Remus Lupin, a werewolf, a friend of James' Potter."

Rosie hated that Moony's name was anywhere near these nasty meetings.

"One of my own." A large man interjected from the back.

He was possibly the biggest man, aside from Hagrid, that she'd ever seen. His face was scarred, and his teeth were a startling shade of yellow. Rose had a sinking feeling that this was Greyback, and she wondered if Professor Snape really believed that she would stoop low enough to be attracted to the man who had ruined Moony's life.

"This Lupin, is he a qualified tutor? I was so very fond of Regulus Black… I cannot fathom that his brother would be any less skilled."

"Lupin is talented. He served as a defense professor the year before Crouch my Lord."

"Ah. Very good, and the girl, is she quite attached to this Lupin? How about Black?"

"Indeed. Potter would do anything and everything to ensure their continued safety."

'You're damn right.' Rosie thought to herself.

"How about her friends? Which students is she closest with? Has she replaced the lovely Cedric?"

"The girl doesn't keep many friends. She is quite solitary. Potter prefers the company of Weasleys, and muggleborns. There is no new boyfriend."

She had no idea that the Dark Lord cared so much about her love life.

"Does she trust you Severus?"

"No, my Lord. The graveyard incident severely damaged any trust that I had gained with her. She does not take well to aggressive men."

Before Rosie could blink, the Dark Lord had his wand raised to Professor Snape and something akin to physical pain ripped through her skull as he cast the Cruciatus curse.

Snape screamed and it was the worst thing she'd ever heard. The curse lasted too long, and Rose had to do something. She pushed against the barrier between her mind and Voldemort's. Hard. Her scream of indignation echoed through the room on different lips and the Dark Lord's wand fell to the ground.

 _Stopstopstop._

It had to stop.

Professor Snape had stood up now, and not unlike the rest of the death eaters, he was focused on Voldemort who had realized that something was very wrong. Rosie was stuck now, and the snake-like man was having a very hard time staying alert, she could tell.

He sank to his knees. Snape approached now; his expression unmistakably frightened. Lucius Malfoy had knelt down beside her…him? And reached out a hand.

"My Lord?" Draco's father tested, but Rose had control.

The death eaters were becoming restless.

Rosie could feel her grasp on the Dark Lord's mind waning. She could feel the last tendrils of the connections severing as what she could only assume were his occlumency shields forced her out.

Coming to, Rose realized that she was in her bed in Gryffindor tower. Her pajamas were wet with sweat, and her head hurt. There was blood clouding her vision and she realized that her scar was bleeding.

Hermione slept peacefully beside her and Rosie didn't know how the hell she was supposed to explain what had just happened to her friend, so she chose not to. Rising from her bed, she headed towards the floo in the common room, wiping the blood from her face onto her hand.

Severus' office was dark and cold, and Rose shivered, sitting down on the couch to wait, her whole-body trembling.

Maybe a half an hour later, a nearly blinding white light invaded the office. It was a patronus. The familiar doe opened its mouth and her guardian's voice came out.

"Rose. Go to my office and stay there. Lock yourself in. Do not speak to anyone. Wait for me there. I will be back soon."

Great minds think alike she reasoned, nestling further into the uncomfortable black couch, panic receding slightly. The potions master was alright, and he would be there soon. He would know what happened.


	97. Chapter 97

**AN- This chapter contains some direct exerts from the original canon text, which I do not own.**

Sirius woke up to the echoing drawl of Snape's voice in his ear.

"Waa?" He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

A doe patronus blinked down at him from his position on the bed.

"Black. Something's happened. Go to my office at Hogwarts. There you will find Rose. If she is not there, go to Gryffindor tower to retrieve her. The password is 'Fizzing Whizbees.'"

He shot out of bed. Trust something terrible to happened on the night of the full moon. Sirius had fallen asleep in just his pants, so he hastily pulled on some pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt.

Sniv's office was small, and he nearly stumbled into Rosie, who was already there and curled up on the black leather sofa on the farthest wall.

"Siri! Thank goodness!" She breathed, lurching forward out off the couch to wrap her arms around him.

"Rosie, love. What's going on?" He looked down and noticed that her face was smeared with blood.

"God, oh fuck. Did you have another dream?"

Rose squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, obviously fighting tears.

"Ok. Alright precious, just let me have a look, yeah?"

He tilted her chin gently and surveyed the damage. The lightening bolt scar was still inflamed but didn't appear to be bleeding anymore. Sirius hadn't brought a wand, so instead, he bunched up the sleeve of his sweater and rubbed it across her forehead, clearing away the blood.

When he was finished, Rosie pulled him back towards her and buried her face into his chest. He held onto her tightly and pressed his lips to the top of her head in comforting silence.

"What did you see this time?" He asked finally.

"A meeting." She mumbled, "but I was inside Voldemort's mind."

"I'm sorry, you were where?"

"In his mind." Rose sobbed. "I was him."

"What? Are you sure it was real?"

"Yes! Yes, it was bloody real. I made him stop torturing Severus."

"Wait…you made him? Rosie, fuck. You possessed him?"

"I don't know what happened! It was an accident!"

"Alrighty, shh Rose. I believe you. Calm down." He sighed, running his fingers through her hair.

She seemed to sink into him, her small form fitting effortlessly in his arms.

They stayed that way for ages until Snivellus showed up. They broke apart as the surly bat unlocked the door to his office, death eater mask still in hand. Sirius sneered at him over Rosie's shoulder.

Snape appraised Rose, running his thumb over the raw scar and then he sighed deeply.

"What in the name of Merlin happened child?"

Rosie never did have any control when it came to the greasy snake. She came immediately undone and her body shook with discontent and confusion. He wished that they could've stayed as they had been before Snape had interrupted.

"Severus, I don't know. I put up my occlumency shields before bed, I swear. I always do! I didn't know how to sever the connection!"

The other man closed his eyes. "I am assuming, due to my continued existence, that either you were able to successfully censor your thoughts, or the Dark Lord was not able to access them."

Rose cringed and clutched at the sleeve of her night shirt.

"As soon as I realized that the meeting was real, I started thinking of you as Professor Snape only. I just, couldn't watch though when…I screamed, I just didn't think, I pushed on his mind."

"You paralyzed the Dark Lord with strength of mind alone. You terrified him."

"I woke up when Malfoy was trying to talk to me… him…I'm pretty sure he drove me out."

"Rose." Snape started again, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Severus! I didn't try to do it, I was occluding before bed, I promise."

Sirius hated how she pandered to the git. Even he had to admit though, Sniv was whipped. He wasn't even mad. The man just seemed resigned and tired.

"We will modify occlumency lessons accordingly. I was not aware that the mental connection was this potent."

"Sir… If I could do that to him by accident isn't there a chance that he could do that to me on purpose? Take over my mind, like what he did to Ginny."

"That is my fear." Snape admitted slowly. "You are to be monitoring closely for time gaps in your day." He commanded softly.

"I always do." Rosie grimaced. "I know what to look for."

"This is fucked." Sirius remarked, rubbing his face.

"A most excellent and helpful observation Black. Truly, I do not know how Rose would survive without your commentary."

"Go bugger yourself Sniv."

"Sirius!" Rose admonished, glaring at him with those Avada Kedavra eyes.

"We should have a lesson soon Severus, I'm worried." She turned away from him again, chewing on her lip.

"Indeed. The headmaster has made a special request in regard to defense education as well. I'd like to see you both tomorrow evening as well as Thursday evening if possible."

Rosie nodded. "What does he want you to teach me?"

Snape shook his head again, eying him. "I will explain on Thursday."

That couldn't be good, if the great git didn't want to say in front of him.

"Don't forget you have lessons with me tomorrow too and with Remus on Friday."

"I wouldn't forget." She turned to him then, and despite the dream, and the chaos of the situation, Rose didn't neglect to shoot him a wide, fond smile.

Occasionally, Sirius fantasized about kidnapping his goddaughter (He knew he wasn't supposed to call her that), stealing her away on his motorbike to some foreign land where nobody knew who they were. He would take her bloody anywhere as long as she was safe.

The next day was a hectic one. Although Rose had an empty slot in her day where defense usually was, she ended up encountering the twins.

"Hey guys." She greeted, coming up behind them.

"Rosie, hey love." George smiled, barely taking his eyes off the piece of parchment that they were focusing on.

"Whatcha doing?"

They made room for her to take a look.

The boys were watching a map, but it wasn't a regular map, it was magical, and it was covered in names, the names of the people currently within the castle, combined with their locations. It was a real-time map of Hogwarts.

"Woah, where did you get this?"

"Nicked it from Filch's office in our first year." Fred answered distractedly.

"What're you watching?"

"Ginny's been in the boys' dorm with Dean for over an hour now. They're on the same bed."

"Oh my god George, that's so invasive! You're watching her? Dean's supposed to be in defense."

"We know." They said in unison.

"Guys, leave your poor sister be. You're not her parents. I've already told Gin everything she needs to know."

"Oh, that's so comforting." Fred rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Yeah you always make such good and healthy choices Rosie." George narrowed his eyes.

"Hey! I would never ever let Ginny behave like me. They're just talking, I can almost guarantee it."

"She's not…?" Fred started.

"No. She's not, and even if she were, I've taught her the contraceptive charm, so there's no need to worry."

Both boys harrumphed unhappily.

"Now, put away that thing and go do something useful, aren't you guys inventing a bunch of new joke inventory?"

"We were, but the funds kinda got cut short on that project for now."

"Really now? That's interesting because coincidentally I've just run into a large and unnecessary sum of gold, and the previous inheritor killed himself before I could pawn it off on him."

"Rose. What the hell are you talking about?"

"The Triwizard earnings. It's tainted money. I don't want a knut of it. I was gonna give it to Amos but…" She frowned, trailing off.

"Rosie, we're not going to accept your charity donation." George sighed.

"Kay, then it's not a donation. It's an investment. Pay me back, with different money later when you're successful entrepreneurs."

"We can't Rose…it's not right." Fred shook his head.

"Fucking hell. Can nobody just relax and let me do something good for once? Amos didn't want it, Moony won't bloody take it. Is it so hard to ask that it go to a cause that might actually make people smile in this awful terrible war that we're in now?" She went off on a bit of a tangent.

The boys looked at each other.

"An investment?" They confirmed.

Rosie nodded.

"You're sure love?"

"Guys, all the money that I have, somebody had to die for me to have it. My parents died and left me enough to never work a day in my life. Cedric died and left me with even more. Trust me, I'm positive."

Suddenly, Rose was being tackled by two very enthusiastic redheads, and for once she felt like she'd done something good, to make a difference.

Rosie was about to pop up to the owlery to send a letter to Gringotts when George aimed his wand that the map parchment and whispered, 'Mischief Managed.'

She froze. Moony and Sirius always said that to each other. Rose had spent the past year and a half hearing that phrase every time a task was completed around the house. Her heart stuttered, not because of Moony and Sirius, but because she knew that if they were involved, so was her dad.

"Um…c…can I see that map for a second?"

The boys turned back to her, surprised by her cautious tone.

"Yeah, of course, but you'll want us to activate it first." Fred smiled, and pointed his wand at the parchment again whispering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Her eyes widened again as the tidy scrawl spelled out an introduction reading,

 _Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs present, The Marauders' Map._

Rosie couldn't help it. She started crying.

"Merlin, Rosie hon what's wrong?" Fred frowned,

"This w…was my d…dad's." She balled, pawing at her eyes with her sleeve.

"Wait, really?" George grinned, putting his arm around her shoulder.

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. "Moony is Remus, Padfoot is Sirius, and Prongs was James."

"Oh, don't cry Rosie." Fred rubbed her arm.

"I just miss him." Rose admitted quietly. It was like a dam had burst.

She let herself cry and allowed the twins to comfort her until she her eyes dried up and her tears turned into sticky cheeks. Rosie hadn't had a good cry about James in a long time, probably not since Dumbledore had given her the cloak in first year. Ron had been beside himself with eleven-year-old boy awkwardness trying to soothe her.

The boys exchanged a look and then handed the map to her. "You keep this love. It's the least we can do."

"Are you sure? Don't you need it?"

"We'll make a new one. Your thing is more important." George reassured her.

"Thanks guys." She beamed.

When Rosie was calm and ready, she took the map and hurried up to the owlery to send that letter.

She sat up there for a long time, watching the map, tracing it with her fingers and thinking, thinking about the panicked voice that she heard in her head yelling for her mother to take her and run.

By the time occlumency lessons rolled around, Rose had had a pretty good day. Her classes had gone smoothly, and she was feeling happy about the twins and nostalgic about the map. The previous night's stress had almost lifted. She should have known that it wouldn't last.

It was as though every time she forgave her father, something else surfaced that made her doubt the gesture.

Rosie had noticed the pensive in the corner of the room, and Severus had mentioned that they were going to be doing defense against more aggressive mental attacks, so she should have realized.

The point of the exercise was for her to push Severus out of her mind and jump into his. It should have been obvious that he would place memories that he didn't want her to see in the basin, to avoid accidental discovery. However, as usual, Rose wasn't thinking.

When Severus left to go check on some Slytherin student in crisis, she peeked, just enough to catch a glimpse of James Potter's face swirling around in the liquid mist.

On a normal day, she would have understood that the potion's master did not have any positive memories of her father, and she would've avoided looking, but this was not a normal day.

James had been on her mind since the map incident with the twins and the temptation was just too overwhelming, so Rosie gave in. She totally violated Severus' privacy, and entered the pensive without permission.

This was when Rose learned that it was sometimes better to remain naïve.

She landed in the middle of the great hall in the middle of an exam. The sign at the front of the hall read, DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS, ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL.

It was not difficult to spot Severus. He had his whole head bent over the parchment and his nose nearly touching the page and he fiercely scribbled away at the written portion of the exam. Her guardian was extremely skinny, much more so than now, but his concentration remained equal.

The professor Flitwick was walking up and down the aisles, warning students that only five minutes remained in the exam, and Rosie's eyes followed him, catching sight of a boy with messy black hair just a few desks in front of Severus.

James.

She'd never seen a pensive memory with her father in it before and her heart surged.

Her eyes traced behind her father and caught sight of Siri, who was flicking his quill impatiently, waiting for the time to be called. Goodness, he was handsome.

Moony sat just a little bit behind, and he looked very similar to the way that he was now. It wasn't hard to pick him out, but in this memory, he appeared peaky, as though the moon was approaching swifter than he would've liked. This was before wolfsbane.

James was tracing the letters, LE, onto his exam parchment. Lily Evans, Rosie was sure.

Severus got up then, and because it was his memory, she had to follow him, leaving the other boys behind, though they began to follow soon after.

The young potions master still had his face buried in a piece of note paper. He was barely watching where he was going.

The marauders settled themselves outside under a tree by the lake and excitement shot through her as Rosie realized that her dad was playing with a snitch, just like Siri said he did, and just exactly like Rose enjoyed doing now.

Severus settled himself a few meters away in a grassy alcove. It was the perfect position to watch all of the boys at the same time.

"I'm bored." Rose heard from Sirius. "Wish it was a full moon."

That was rude, she thought, and Moony seemed to think so too because he turned to Siri and grimaced.

"You might."

"I know what'll liven you up Pads." James smirked, snapping his fingers in the direction of the alcove and Sirius turned. A nasty grin broke out on his face.

"Excellent. Snivellus."

At this point, Rosie was beginning to regret invading her guardian's personal memories. She hated that nickname.

"Alright Snivellus?" James called, standing up, flanked by Sirius and Wormtail.

Severus reacted so quickly; his hand movement appeared almost blurry. He reached into his robe pocket and pulled out his wand, but James had already cast a disarming spell and the wand went flying out of the young potions master's hands.

Siri, coming in from James' other side, cast _Impedimenta,_ preventing her guardian from retrieving his wand.

Rosie watched in utter horror as James began to taunt Severus, scourgifying his mouth with soap as the Slytherin boy struggled under the weight of the jinx.

He was choking and her dad was laughing.

Suddenly, an enraged cry pierced through the laughter.

"Leave him alone!" Lily shrieked, heading towards the marauders, her eyes murderous.

"What's he done to you?" She hissed again.

"Well…It's more the fact that he exists, if you get what I mean." Her dad chuckled, never lifting the scourgifying spell.

As if what he was doing to Severus wasn't already horrible enough, James then turned to her mom and articulated a phrase so unforgivable that Rosie actually gasped out loud.

"I'll leave him alone if you go out with me Evans."

Her chest tightened. That sounded like a thinly veiled threat, and for a moment, the thought passed through her mind that perhaps Lily had only gone out with James to stop him from tormenting her friend.

It was these types of situations, riddled with dubious consent, that put her on edge, set her off, reminded her of her own experiences with toxic males.

She felt sick.

Lily rejected the offer, and that pissed James off. He flipped Severus upside down so that his legs and underpants were exposed in front of everyone and that was when Rose's eyes began to sting. That had happened to her before.

Everyone was laughing and her heart was aching while a fire blazed in her belly.

They were making fun of his second hand clothes.

Her mom was trying to make them stop, but nothing was working until finally, James seemed to grow bored and dropped Severus down onto the ground roughly.

"Ah, you're lucky that Evans was here this time Snivelly." He jeered, but for the first time, the Slytherin's voice retaliated. Unfortunately, the retaliation was against the wrong person.

"I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!" Severus sneered, and Lily blinked.

"Fine." She replied coolly. "I won't bother in the future, and I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."

There was a hand on Rose's shoulder then and she looked up into stone cold face of her guardian.

Occasionally, the urge to strangle the insolent, spoiled, and idiotic girl was just too prominent to be ignored. How dare she? Severus thought to himself as soon as he returned to find her stuck in the pensive.

Rose just could not use her brain.

He had been preparing to make the girl regret that she'd ever been born until he saw her face.

She was absolutely horrified and there was a greenish tinge to her pallid skin.

As soon as they landed back in his office, Rose pulled away from him, creating distance, her expression forlorn.

"Rose Lily Potter." He began, but she interrupted him.

"I hate him." She breathed.

Severus exhaled and moved towards her at the same time that a knock resounded on the door to his office.

Black.

He had come for the defense lesson.

Rose pivoted on her heels, turning to glare at him.

"Heya Rosie."

"YOU." The girl growled. "Don't you ever fucking speak to me again, you bloody coward. I'm done with you!" She hissed, and pushed past her former godfather into the hall, disappearing into the next corridor.


	98. Chapter 98

**AN- Not much Sirius in this chapter, sorry guys, but he'll be there in the next! Not to worry.**

Black's mouth hung open in an uncharacteristic display of surprise and when Rose disappeared, he turned on Severus.

"What the fuck did you say to her?" His voice was soft and hurt.

"I do not make a habit of upsetting Rose, Black. She is the one who entered the pensive without permission. I had been storing memories there that I did not wish for her to see."

"What was it?"

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"What was the bloody memory Snape?" He asked again, agitation seeping into his voice.

He refused to grace the mutt with a response, promptly raising his wand and spelling the door shut in the man's face. The potions master sat down and rubbed his temples. Adolescents were a headache.

Sirius wanted to run after Rosie. He wanted to ask her what the hell she saw him do that would make her say that, but for a moment he just stood frozen outside of Sniv's office.

He had already told her about trying to kill Snape. Other than being responsible for James and Lily's death, that had been pretty much the worst thing he'd ever done.

Instead of going to fetch Rose right away, he went home. Perhaps all she needed was a bit of time to get over whatever he had done now. That, and he really didn't think he could take anymore Rosie rejection that evening.

Rose was livid, livid and astonished, disappointed, let down. She was every one of those things and more, but most of all, she felt like a damn fool, again. Every time, every single time she began to let him back into her life, back into her heart, he found a way to crush it again. He wasn't even alive for god's sake.

James Potter was Rosie's kryptonite, her greatest weakness.

She didn't understand how watching that memory had left her with the remnants of equal parts hatred and longing. Rose had been so relieved when she and Severus had talked, during their first swimming lesson out by the lake. She'd felt lighter then, like there really could be a happy medium, a balance, or at least a world in which she could keep everyone locked away in her heart without it bursting.

Rosie was wrong. She was wrong because James Potter, her dad, had been a monster. He had been her childhood bully and his voice echoed in every taunt and jeer from every man that she'd ever encountered.

He had been the first one. Her dad had been the first man to break her heart and he didn't even know it.

It had to be some sort of karma, a punishment for his actions, that his daughter, his only child, would be tormented by boys and men like him her whole life.

It was possible that Rosie was being dramatic. Afterall, Severus had told her, and he had been sincere, that she was absolutely free to love, miss, and need her father, and she did, but that didn't stop the reality of the situation from sinking in.

Feeling sick, and not sure where to go, Rose made her way up out of the dungeons towards Myrtle's bathroom, her face red with contempt.

On the way, in the hallway just outside the loo she encountered none other than Draco Malfoy lurking about. He was like a bloodhound. The boy could smell angst and vulnerability; she was sure of it.

"Alright Potter?" He smirked, leaning up against the wall outside the lavatory.

"Piss off Malfoy." She glared, turning into the bathroom.

Rosie headed toward the sinks on the front wall and leant against the marble, dropping her head into her hands. She jumped as she heard the same voice resound throughout the lavatory.

"What's got you all wound up?" Draco taunted, coming to sit on the counter beside her.

"This is the girls' loo Malfoy."

"Like anyone comes in here anyways." He winked.

Rose just scowled.

He reached forward and tapped at her arm, jumping down from the counter and guiding her to face him.

"Who has your knickers in a twist?" He coaxed; his tone surprisingly gentle.

"It's nothing." She sighed. "Just family stuff."

"What? Like with Lupin and Black? I thought you got along with them."

"I do… it's, well, it's my dad."

"Ah. Daddy issues. I hate to break it to you Potter but your dad's dead."

She let out a laugh. "It's his memory you ass. He just, wasn't who I thought he was."

Draco snorted. "Well, unless he was a murdering rapist, I've still got you beat."

"Well, no. He wasn't that." Rosie sighed. "Just a bully mostly."

"Count yourself lucky then. C'mon Potter, he's your dad. It doesn't matter what he did. Family is family."

"Is that how you sleep at night?"

Malfoy pushed her up onto the sink counter unceremoniously. "My father is a piece of shit, but he's still my father."

"Why can't you just let me brood?" She hissed, feeling his hand trail up her thigh, moving under her skirt.

"If you want you can call me daddy." Draco wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I don't mind."

"Fuck off. That's disgusting." Rose sneered, pushing back on his chest.

Malfoy seemed to like that, because he gripped the sleeves of her robe tighter, pulling her body towards him, their lips meeting roughly in the middle.

"Fuck Potter, it's been too long."

"What? Pansy doesn't put out?" Rosie asked as he nibbled on her lower lip.

"We're waiting till marriage." He growled, kneading at her backside from behind.

"Ha!"

"Bite your tongue princess, or I'll do it for you."

"Don't call me that." She hissed, biting down on his lip.

That's was Moony called her. She refused to sully the affectionate nickname.

"Ow, you're such a bitch." He growled, pressing his erection into her leg.

"You're sick. Maybe it's you with the daddy issue."

"You know it baby girl." Draco whispered in her ear.

"You are turning me right the fuck off Malfoy. I don't want to have sex with my father."

"So, you're not even a little bit wet right now?" He taunted, running his hand up her skirt again and rubbing it against her core.

"Malfoy…"

"Mhm. Dry as the Sahara" Draco winked sarcastically, feeling the dampness in her tights.

"God, I hate you." Rosie moaned, allowing him to continue stroking her.

He pushed his hardness against her, allowing the delicious friction to guide their movements.

The sinks were low, and Draco was eager, so, it wasn't long before he had wrenched her tights down and unbuckled his belt. The Malfoy heir wasn't much into foreplay. His build up to sex seemed to include the casting of the contraceptive spell, and nothing more.

The position was uncomfortable, but Rose couldn't take the unbearable tension in her lower belly any longer. She needed release, and although it hurt to have her back pressing into the silver tap, she allowed him to push into her with a resounding groan.

"Sweet Merlin Potter." Malfoy sighed as he rolled his hips, burrowing deeper into her wet heat and causing Rosie to throw her head back so that she almost collided with the mirror.

Draco did not do anything that she didn't expect. He was rough and uncaring when it came to her comfort, but as usual, she enjoyed the degrading act.

It seemed like Malfoy was close. She could tell by the way that he fisted her robes, his forehead set in determination. His strokes switched from controlled and calculated to furious and stuttering.

Unfortunately, Rosie was slower on the uptake, and she felt him come too soon, his seed, which was hot inside of her, a disappointment.

Draco cursed out his climax at the same time that she let out a guttural hiss of frustration.

The Slytherin snapped his head up to look at her as she hissed, and his eyes widened. He was looking beyond her now, and then he was reaching out a hand, pulling her roughly to stand next to him.

The floor was opening, or the sink was. It didn't matter. The exact spot where Rose had been propped up just seconds before was caving in.

It was with confusion and certain sense of awkward expectation that they stood gaping at the hole in the floor, which was circular, and seemed to resemble a slide. Rosie could feel liquid trickling down her thighs and groaned in disgust and self-hatred as she realized that her tights were still around her ankles.

Draco did up his zipper and turned to look at her. By this time, Rosie was pulling off her shoes and tights, vanishing the semen, and pulling on her knickers.

"What the bloody hell are you doing Potter?"

She smirked. "I'm going to go see what's down here."

"Idiot Gryfindors." He growled as she kicked her tights off to the side and sat down at the opening of the tunnel.

"Are you coming?" Rosie asked, and then in her mind she simpered, _'because I certainly didn't.'_

Rosie really liked slides. She'd spent the majority of her childhood either locked in a cupboard, or outside at the park, and in her opinion, there was no bad feeling that a good slide could cure.

That's why, even though this particular slide was absolutely filthy, Rose found herself forgetting the angst with her father, as well as the unsatisfactory sexual encounter in favor of enjoying the ride.

Draco was such a wuss. He screamed the whole way day, clinging to her arm like a child.

At the bottom of the tunnel was when Rosie began to regret leaving her shoes in the lavatory. There were bones all over the ground and she had to gingerly look for spot where the brittle skeletons wouldn't pierce into her skin.

"What the hell have you gotten us into Potter?"

"Relax Malfoy, it's Hogwarts, it can't be anything that dangerous." She reassured, purposefully squashing down thoughts of Fluffy the Cerberus.

Her comrade was eyeing the exit with obvious readiness, but Rose was feeling very Gryfindor-ish. Severus would kill her, but he wasn't a Gryffindor. She was descended from Prongs, and as much as she hated him in that moment, Rosie knew that it was hopeless to fight the genetics.

There was something about inner turmoil and conflict that made her so reckless.

They followed the tunnel down to a large stone door which was shut and locked by a large circular contraption surrounded by snakes carved into the stone.

"Looks like it's locked. Let's get out of here." Draco nudged her.

"Wait just a second Malfoy. I think I might know what this place is."

An uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach and she closed her eyes, picturing those stone snakes transforming into live copies of themselves. When she felt ready, Rosie opened her mouth and hissed,

" _Open."_

She could feel Draco shiver next to her as the latches started to undo themselves on the stone door in front of them.

Her breath caught. This was exactly what she thought it was.

The chamber of secrets.

The amphitheater that they entered into next was cold and dirty. The ceilings were high, and the walls were coated with a thick layer of mildew. Malfoy had his hand on her lower back now and she wasn't sure if it was for her sake or his own.

"Look up here." He breathed, pointing towards a small insignia to the right of them.

Rosie hummed with interest.

" _Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four."_ She read, but it came out as one long, strangled hiss.

"Oof. That never gets less creepy." Rose sighed.

Malfoy didn't respond. She turned to look at him and realized that he was frozen in horror.

A circular portal on the far side of the chamber began to twist itself open and she could see a flicker of movement from off in the distance.

"Please don't be a Cerberus" Rosie breathed, drawing her wand.

"What?" Draco whipped around to look at her.

"Nothing. Nothing." She hushed him.

Apparently, Rose had to be the brave one here.

Of course, it would be a snake. This was Slytherin's personal lair, how could it be anything else?

It was the largest snake that she'd ever seen. Actually, she wasn't sure if she could've conjured up a snake this large in her dreams. It was massive.

Malfoy was losing it, but then again, he couldn't speak to it.

Just like the dragon, Rosie tried not to look to hard. Instead, she cast the Sonorus charm once again on herself and moved forward.

" _Er hello."_ She hissed.

" _A second speaker. So soon?"_ The monster replied, raising itself up to appraise her.

That's when she noticed that its eyes were milky white, almost cloudy.

" _How long ago did the last speaker visit?"_ Rose asked, already knowing the answer.

" _One thousand ninety-five moons ago Mistress. Another tiny female, but she did not come of her own volition."_

She nodded _. "It was you, attacking students then?"_

" _I hunted for several moons above ground."_

" _Do you like living here? Underground I mean."_

" _I am trapped Mistress. Will you set me free?"_

Rosie didn't know what to say. No, she could not let the giant serpent loose into the bowels of the school.

" _I could talk to the headmaster about it. Perhaps there is somewhere where your kind lived. What kind of snake are you?"_

" _They call me basilisk."_

"Malfoy, do you know anything about basilisks?" She asked offhandedly.

The blond boy choked. "Is that a basilisk?"

"Er… yup. Why?"

"We should be dead." He muttered. "You can't look a basilisk in the eyes."

Rose turned back to the creature. _"Why haven't your eyes killed us?"_

" _I only expose my eyes during a hunt. It would never be my intention to kill a speaker."_

That must be why they were cloudy.

" _Alright… well, I'll try to talk to the headmaster about finding a way for you to leave here, but I should be going now."_ She tried.

" _Let me out."_

Rosie groaned. _"I swear to god I'll try, ok? But I can't right now."_

" _You do not lie?"_

" _No. I promise I'm not lying."_

To prove herself right, she stepped forward towards the snake and motioned for it to lower its head. She tried to pretend it was a dog. The long, forked tongue flicked out to smell her, and touched her shoulder.

She giggled, reaching up to scratch behind its eyes, just like Padfoot enjoyed. If a basilisk could moan, that's the word Rosie would've used to describe the sound it made.

" _I promise."_ She whispered.

The snake submitted to her touch and bowed.

That was Rosie's cue to get them out of there. She turned and shuffled quickly towards Malfoy who appeared petrified and grasped onto his arm.

"Come Draco."

He followed her without question. Rose made sure to close the snake door behind them so as to prevent a massacre.

All they had to do was request stairs in parseltongue and the slide switched.

When they made it back up to the girl's loo, Draco almost had a panic attack.

"What the fuck just happened?"

"We found the chamber of secrets."

"Wait… what?"

"Sorry, I forgot you missed that part. That's Slytherin's monster."

"You're having me on." He spat, glaring at her.

"No, I'm not you oblivious dolt. What do you think I was talking to it about, the weather? C'mon, we have to go talk to the headmaster."

She grabbed onto his robes and dragged him towards the familiar gargoyle on the other side of the school. It was late, and there weren't many people roaming the halls. Perhaps it was nearing curfew.

Professor Dumbledore seemed completely amused to see Rosie walk into his office with Draco Malfoy in tow. His eyes were sparkling over his glasses when he asked them what seemed to be the problem that evening.

As the both sat down across from the older man's desk Rose hastily began to explain.

"Erm… Draco and I were… _speaking_ in moaning Myrle's lavatory, and we accidently encountered the chamber of secrets."

His blue eyes widened significantly. "You found the chamber of secrets?"

"Er… yes. There's a basilisk down there."

The headmaster stood up abruptly. "Did you seal it off when you left?" He spoke, his voice serious.

"Of course, we did. I told the basilisk that I'd speak to you about getting it out of the castle."

He nodded. "Mr. Malfoy, would you please run along and collect professors Snape and McGonagall?"

Malfoy, who was still shell shocked, flitted from the room.

"I think the snake freaked him out." Rosie bit her lip.

"Yes." Dumbledore smiled. "Basilisks do tend to have that effect on people."

"Do tell me Rose, how does one accidently uncover the chamber or secrets in a girl's lavatory?"

She blushed. "I don't really want to go into the specifics, but I hissed, and I guess it must have been a word in parseltongue, and the chamber just sort of opened."

"I see." He nodded genially.

When Severus and Professor McGonagall swept into the office, her guardian's eyes immediately turned to her.

"Rose Potter, where are your clothes?" He questioned angrily.

It was then that she realized that her legs were bare, and she was still not wearing shoes. Her cheeks flushed scarlet. The transfiguration professor looked at her then too.

"Not on apparently." She replied, pulling on her hair.

"Severus. She has just come from the girls' lavatory. Perhaps that is the explanation for the misplaced tights." McGonagall reasoned sternly.

"Yeah Severus." Rosie pouted, "Don't make assumptions."

The potions master narrowed his eyes at her.

"The chamber of secrets houses a basilisk." Dumbledore interrupted.

The professors were paying attention to him now and not Rose.

"How will we kill it?" Professor McGonagall asked, her eyes wide.

"No!" She almost shouted. "You can't kill it!"

"Rose." Severus warned her irritably.

"No. It's not gonna do anything! It can't even get out without help! Can't we just send it away somewhere?"

"Child. Think for a moment about the current climate that we're in. If the dark lord were to suspect that a rogue basilisk was roaming about Britain, what do you think he might do?" Her guardian asked, obviously tired.

"Sir, please." Rosie turned to the headmaster again. "What if we sent it to Romania, where Charlie works."

Severus' eyes narrowed further at the mention of Charlie Weasley; he was still sore about the contraception thing.

"That is a possibility." Dumbledore hummed. "But how to contain the beast enough to move it is the question."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Well, I can do that. It'll listen to me." She offered.

"No." The potions master interjected.

"Severus. Honestly, it's fine. I already talked to him. He's really nice, and he told me that he'd never open his eyes to a speaker."

"The beast maimed several students not three years ago." He spat back.

"Because he was ordered to by Tom! Please Professor Dumbledore, don't kill him."

The headmaster made eye contact with Severus and then her guardian growled.

"I would have to obtain permission from Rose's legal guardian before allowing her back into the chamber." Dumbledore said, more to himself than anyone else.

"Oh yes, let's go and ask Moony." She smirked, knowing then that she had won.

"How does Saturday evening sound?" He peered back at her. "That gives us enough time to write to Mr. Weasley, and contact Mr. Lupin."

"Perfect sir. I do have one other request though…"

The old wizard nodded for her to continue.

"I want to bring Ginny."

"Ginny Weasley?" Professor McGonagall gasped. "Whatever for?"

Severus' face softened. "Rose. I understand what you'd like to do, but in this case it would not be practical."

"Please." Rosie pleaded, blinking up at him. She moved over to him now and clutched onto his arm. "She has the right to know what happened to her. You fought for me, let me fight for her."

"You are treading on very thin ice today Rose." He informed her, pursing his lips.

"Please. I'm sorry for invading your private memories and then leaving Sirius upset in your office, and I'm sorry for what I did after… but please don't take it out on Ginny."

"What did you do _after_?"

"Will you accept, 'accidentally finding the chamber of secrets' as an answer?" She tried.

He sighed, and Rosie lurched forward, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face in his chest. She was almost at his shoulder now in height.

"I will speak with Arthur and Molly." Dumbledore conceded, "But I may need your help explaining the reason behind the request."

The impromptu meeting was adjourned for the night with the intention of going ahead for basilisk removal on Saturday.

Classes the next day were normal, and Rose actually managed to brew a successful pepper up potion, though Draco kept shooting her horrified glances every few minutes. He didn't seem to be taking their discovery well. Pansy had been hanging off him for most of the day, so she couldn't very well approach him to let him know their plans to remove the serpent from the castle.

She had been surprised at Draco's admission that he and the Slytherin girl hadn't slept together yet. In a way, Rosie was envious. She wished that she'd been able to make the decision to wait until marriage. There would never be a special first time for her. It would always be tainted by the memory of sickly-sweet cologne and rough hands.

It wasn't until lunch that she got a chance to corner Ginny. She had pulled her aside and brought her to an empty classroom.

"What's wrong? Are you ok Rosie?" The redhead asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I'm fine Gin. I just… have to tell you something, and it might be a bit hard for you to hear."

Her friend sat up straighter and her expression twisted. "Is it Dean? Is he cheating on me because I can't have sex with him?"

Rose put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "No. No it's not Dean. It's something else."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Well what is it Rosie? What's going on?"

"We found the chamber of secrets."

Ginny froze.

Her hands came instantly up to wrap around her torso protectively. That's what Rosie did when she was anxious too according to Severus.

"How?" Was all that her friend seemed to be able to say in that moment.

"The entrance is in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I accidently spoke parseltongue in there last night and it opened."

"Oh."

"There's a basilisk down there Gin. That's Slytherin's monster. He remembered you."

"He d…did?"

Rose nodded, rubbing the girl's arm.

"We're going to get in touch with Charlie at the dragon reserve to see if they can take it. On Saturday, the headmaster and I are going to go into the chamber and bring it out, and I asked if you could come too, but only if you want to."

"You mean, go back into the chamber?" She stuttered.

"Only if your comfortable Gin. I just remember how confused and upset that I felt before I'd seen Lockhart's memories… I thought maybe we could ask the basilisk to give us a play by play of that time period."

Ginny agreed, nodding mechanically and staring off into space for a while. She was jumpy for the whole rest of the day, and in the common room later that evening, she was nowhere to be found. Rose hoped that this was a good idea.

She would've looked for her friend, but she had mysterious defense lessons to attend with Severus, so instead, she trudged towards the potions' office, her stomach churning with nerves.

Her guardian had left a note on his door requesting that she please meet him in the practice room, so that is where she set off for next.

He was tense. Rose could tell as soon as she walked in the room. He was facing away from her towards the wall.

"Severus?" She prompted.

"Good evening Rose." He nodded, motioning for her to approach.

They stood in silence for a moment, the tension hanging in the air, thick and unrelenting until finally, Severus spoke.

"Rose. Do you hate Gilderoy Lockhart?"

Now it was her and not Ginny whose chest clenched with anxiety.

"What?" She questioned breathlessly.

"Do you hate him? For what he did to you."

Rosie shrugged. "I don't know sir."

Severus closed his eyes and sighed. "Were you… pleased, when he was sentenced? Did it make you feel good, or satisfied?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. It kinda felt bad, like maybe nobody deserves to go to Azkaban. Sirius got so messed up in there…" Rose trailed off, lost in thought.

That didn't seem to be the answer that her guardian was hoping for.

"Is there anyone that you hate child?" He tried again.

"I don't know. Why are you asking me this?" She bristled.

"The headmaster has requested that I teach you something that I am not quite sure you will be capable of learning."

"What is it?"

"It is his wish that you learn to cast the killing curse."

Rosie recoiled, her mouth dropped open, and her hands clenched into fists.

"No. No no no no no."

She began to panic. "No, Severus, no please. I don't want to. Please."

Her voice shook with emotion. There was now way that she could learn to cast the curse that killed her parents… Cedric. No.

"Rose. Rose, calm yourself." Her guardian instructed as the room began to shake.

"No. Severus, no please don't make me. Please."

The desk started to rattle, and she shut her eyes. It didn't take long before she was enveloped in a strong embrace.

"Rose Lily. Relax your body." He soothed, holding her to him. "Take deep breaths."

She tried to do as he asked, breathing in deeply and exhaling.

"At this time, we are only having a discussion. Nobody is killing anything."

Rose nodded into him. He pulled her back and then guided her over to sit on the desk in the corner of the practice room.

"Let's continue to discuss hate, child."

He waited until she nodded again before continuing.

"Can you think of anyone in the world that you hate?"

Frowning, Rosie thought about it. "Sometimes I hate Lockhart, and the Dark Lord, Moody too. Sometimes I hate my uncle, and sometimes I really hate my dad."

Severus nodded and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Alright. Now, have you ever felt like you could, or you desired to inflict pain onto any one of those people?"

She bit her lip uncomfortably. "Yeah, all of them, but not all the time."

"When was the most recent occurrence?"

Her eyes began to sting then. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Try Rose. It is essential that you learn to pinpoint this emotion."

"Today in potions class. I was thinking about how unfair it is that I never got to decide when to have sex for the first time, and I felt really upset, but I don't know if I wanted to hurt Lockhart."

"This was today?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Alright, how about the time before that?"

Rosie began to wring her hands together anxiously. "When I saw your memory."

He waited for her to continue.

"I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to scourgify his mouth out and hold him upside down so that everyone could see him in his pants, so he knew what that felt like."

"I would prefer that we do not work with memories of your father in this particular area of study. It would be regrettable were you to cast your first killing curse in his name."

"I don't want to cast it ever Severus. I don't."

"I have absolutely no desire to teach you either Rose, but it is not I who suggested it. Perhaps, you should have a discussion with the headmaster."

"Just, can we be done please? I'll try to… work on it for next time, but please don't make me do this anymore tonight."

"Very well." He agreed, straightening himself up to full height.

"Did you cast your first killing curse in his name?" Rosie asked then, fidgeting nervously.

His head snapped up to look at her.

"No."

She wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or lying to spare her feelings.

"Is that what you meant when you said that you insulted my mother? Was it that you called her a mudblood?"

"Yes." He replied slowly, as if testing to gauge her reaction.

"I think she would probably hate me then too." Rosie exhaled.

Her guardian's eyebrows shot up. "What on earth would lead you to believe that?"

She blinked and then made eye contact. "Can I show you a memory?"

Curious now, the potions master met her gaze and she felt the probe of his unspoken spell in her mind.

 _An impossibly tiny version of Rose played alone in a muggle park. Her clothes were large and baggy, and her shoes were torn. She played with rocks, not toys, and smiled quietly to herself as she made them speak to each other. From the distance, a gang of other children approached. It was a group of little boys, about the same age. The leader, an overweight child, moved forward towards the tiny Rose and grabbed her arm roughly._

" _Hey Rosey Posey, whatcha playin`? He began._

 _In that moment, another boy came out from the crowd and took the little girl's other arm._

" _Leave me alone Dudley, please!" She cried._

" _Leave me alone…." The boy called Dudley mocked her._

 _It wasn't long before the boys had the small girl pinned face down in the dirt. Little Rose didn't seem to be able to breath under the weight of the instigator._

" _Dudley, let me up!" Her voice was pinched. Another boy kicked her in the legs._

" _Shut up Rosey Posey." The thinner boy laughed. "What were you doing? Were you playing? Pretending you have parents I bet. Freak."_

" _Get off me!"_

" _Or what? You gonna tell on me?" Dudley taunted. "You know what you gotta do… to make us leave."_

 _The little girl whimpered. "C'mon Posey, say it. Tell me what your mama was?"_

 _Tiny Rose was struggling to breath. Her body shuddered and her voice shook. "A whore." The word sounded foreign on her tongue._

" _That's right Posey, she was a whore. And your daddy?"_

" _A drunk." She sobbed._

" _Good girl." Dudley purred. "See now you get to play. That wasn't so hard was it?" The boy lifted his weight off her, and his friends backed off._

When the memory ended, Rosie replaced her mental shields and shook her head, coming back into reality.

Severus was pale and he had his hand closed around hers possessively.

"Everyone says things they don't mean when they're scared." She whispered.

"No. That is not even a remotely comparable situation."

"Why not?" Rosie retorted; her tone stubborn.

"Rose. I was a wicked, spiteful, selfish, and unkind young man. I retaliated with equal force against your father, and your mother had every right to desist defending me because I insulted her very deeply when she tried. That was not the first time that I'd rejected her attempts to aid me."

"I just don't know what to think."

"As I have said before, it is not and has never been my intention to ruin your father's memory. In the end, he is still your father, and you should still respect him."

"That's exactly what Malfoy said."

"You discuss your personal conflicts with Mr. Malfoy?"

"Sometimes." She shrugged. "He's not so bad. He ruined it last time though, tried to get me to call him daddy."

Her guardian shuddered. "Child. There are some things that I do not need to be made aware of. That is one of them."

"I didn't!" Rosie defended, raising her hands in surrender.

"Run along Rose, before my ears begin to bleed." He glared.

As it turned out, Molly and Arthur Weasley were not very keen on the idea of their only daughter traipsing around in Slytherin's snake dungeon.

Moony had offered to talk to them with her before their lesson on Friday. He stood behind her, hands on her shoulders and Molly Weasley's eyes bugged out of her head.

"You want to take my daughter where?"

"Molly. I assure you that Rose would not do anything that she didn't think would benefit Ginny in the long run," Moony defended.

"And just how is going into the chamber of secrets to have a conversation with a basilisk going to benefit Ginny?" The woman put her hands on her hips.

Rosie sighed and looked to Arthur for help.

"Molly, why don't we just listen to what Rose has to say." He reasoned.

The woman pursed her lips and Moony rubbed her arm. She leaned back into him for support.

"When I was raped…" She began, and instantly the air thickened. "I didn't remember anything. I didn't even know what had happened. All I had to go off of were Severus' vague descriptions of sex, and it was all very confusing for me."

"I know dear." Molly frowned, stepping forward as if to comfort her.

"I felt really bad, and I didn't even know why." Rosie continued. "It wasn't until Severus showed me Lockhart's memories that I finally understood what'd happened, and even though it was really horrible and scary, it was worth it because I couldn't heal from something that I didn't even know had happened."

"Surely you don't believe that what happened with Ginny was the same as what was done to you Rose love." The Weasley matriarch continued.

She hissed in frustration. "Don't you get it? He used my body to do awful things, and Tom used Ginny's. Haven't you noticed how she's changed? Her reactions are the same as mine, almost worse because at least I've been able to talk about and deal with what happened to me."

"What are you saying Rose?" Arthur prompted.

"I'm saying, that if you let Ginny explore her lost memories, through visiting the chamber, then maybe she can start to recover."

The couple exchanged a look. "Have you discussed this with Ginny?"

"Yes, and she agrees. She's scared, but she agrees."

"And you can command this basilisk thing?" Molly confirmed.

"Yes. It's not going to hurt her."

"Alright then dear. You do what you think is best for Ginny."

Rosie sagged in relief. She prayed that their little excursion would bring her friend some closure.


	99. Chapter 99

**AN- Hey all, just wanted to recommend a couple stories that I've read lately. I've been following Witch Hazel by wisehimmel, which is a girl! harry fic that seems to follow the canon plotline while still creating a unique character.**

 **The other one I wanted to recommend is a time travel fic, called The Time Spiral by MemberOfDumbledoresArmy, with a totally unique concept where Lily Luna goes back in time and falls in love with Sirius. I wouldn't normally read something with such an odd premise, but it was super well done and finished, and they worked it really well into canon so that it felt like it really could've happened!**

 **As a side note, I'm sorry the updates have been slower lately. I suppose I blame it on being in the middle of the story, where she's moving past the earlier plotline, but she's still too young to start with Sirius lol. Don't worry, I won't abandon the story. I have some interesting plot with Sirius planned for Christmas holidays of fifth year.**

Moony's lesson was mostly spent trying to convince Rosie to talk to Sirius again.

"Sweetheart, he's a right foul git when you're mad at him." Her godfather sighed, shooting her a pitiful look.

Rose cross her arms over her chest in a huff. "It's not my fault that he's a bloody psychopath."

"He's not a psychopath princess. He's hurt. You know how he is. Sirius doesn't always make the best decisions in the heat of the moment, and then he regrets them later."

"Is that what you thought when he nearly got you and Severus killed?"

The werewolf's eyes widened. "Did Severus tell you about that?"

She shook her head. "Siri told me himself, last Christmas."

"Sweet pea, of course I was mad, furious actually, and hurt, but I know that he didn't mean for it to happen. He doesn't think through his decisions clearly before he makes them."

"Why do you trust him then?"

"I trust him because he's proven himself to me more times than he's let me down, and he's my family love. You and Padfoot are my only family, and family forgives each other."

Rosie just shrugged.

"Honey did you forgive Severus for joining the death eaters?"

She nodded, biting her lip.

"And did you forgive me for abandoning you as a little girl?"

"Moony…"

"Answer the question my love."

Rose nodded again.

"Then I implore you… to find it in your heart to forgive Sirius. We've all made huge mistakes, and we're all different now. If you trust me, you'll believe that Padfoot has changed one thousand times over from our school days Rosie."

There was too much tension in the air. Rosie didn't like it, and she didn't want to talk about her ex-godfather.

"How about, I'll forgive Sirius if you tell your boyfriend about your furry little problem."

"Rose." He hissed, obviously surprised at the choice of topic.

"Why haven't you told him Moony?" She approached, frowning and reaching out to touch his arm lightly.

"Honey it's not that simple. Kinglsey is an auror… it is possible that he has some preconceived notions about werewolves. Many of the wolves joined the death eaters in the first wizarding war darling."

"But Moony, it's not fair that you have to hide such a big part of your life from someone who's supposed to know you."

"Oh, my love." His face was pained. "Do you remember how hard it was to tell me about Professor Lockhart? Or how difficult it was to talk with Cedric about it?"

Rosie's heart clenched at the memory. It had been horrible.

"When I told Severus that one of the reasons why I stayed with Ced was because he stuck with me through the whole Lockhart thing, he told me that any decent person would."

"And he was right princess." Her godfather bit his lip.

"So why is this any different then?" She challenged.

"Darling, you didn't turn into a monster." He patted her back.

"I think that's a matter of opinion." Rosie smiled softly. "Besides, if he reacts badly, Siri and I will just kill him."

"Well as long as it gets you two to cooperate." Moony chuckled then.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Rose thought that her guardian was about to continue with the lesson when she coughed abruptly.

"Tell him to come tomorrow." She sighed.

The grin on her godfather's face was worth the trouble.

"He'll be so happy."

"Yeah well. Tell him if I ever hear that awful name leave his mouth again, we're over. Yeah?"

"I'll tell him." Moony agreed.

They spent that last half hour practicing shield charms and talking about the theory behind them. Moony made her read to him from a textbook. She thought that perhaps he just liked to be read to. Either way, she obliged.

Remus flooed home that evening to find Sirius once again horizontal on the couch with a half empty glass of firewhiskey beside his head on the end table. He sighed. His best friend's drinking was becoming excessive, and his mood even worse. The werewolf understood; he really did.

The effects of twelve years in Azkaban were not to be underestimated but living with them was another story. Sirius was only ever happy when Rosie was at home, and even then, it was hit or miss based on their near constant antagonistic banter.

Reasonably, Remus knew that he would be like this, when he invited the man to stay with them, and he didn't regret it, but it grew tiring, playing the middle man when Sirius couldn't just haul his grown ass off the couch to go apologize properly to Rose himself.

It was as though Sirius' mind had been frozen at the age of twenty-one, like Azkaban had stunted his maturation.

"Padfoot. Get up and go to bed." He nudged his friend, sitting down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Bugger off Moony." He mumbled, trying to cover his face with a throw pillow.

"Rosie is going to be hacked off if you don't show up tomorrow morning because you're hungover."

"What-r-you talking about?"

"She's invited you to come help take the basilisk out of the chamber tomorrow."

His eyes flew open. "Really?"

"Yes really, but Padfoot, I'd watch yourself with the _Snivellus_ talk around her. She's really fed up with it. She said to tell you that the next time you use that word with her, she's done."

"She's so bloody dramatic."

"She's dramatic? She's fifteen. You're thirty-five."

"Ugh. Don't remind me."

"I'm just saying, it's about time you get over this thing with Severus and focus on actually furthering your relationship with Rosie. He's not going anywhere."

"Unless he dies." Sirius snorted.

"Sirius. That's uncalled for. Would you really wish that kind of suffering onto Rose just because you hate Severus? Do you have any idea how devastated she would be?"

"I didn't mean it." He hissed.

"Well, you need to be more careful what you say then, especially around Rose. The last thing she needs is for you to be causing more problems than she already has. You know that she ran to the Malfoy boy after watching what you and James did in that pensive? That's how they found the chamber in the first place."

"She's does that every time she's pissed off. She likes to hurt herself with shitty sex."

"I gathered that." Remus narrowed his eyes. "Let's try to avoid doing that in the future."

"You're just jealous."

"Of Rosie's shitty sex with Draco Malfoy?" He smirked. "I assure you; I have nothing to be jealous of. Unlike some people, I've been laid once or twice in the past fourteen years. You know, maybe that's what you need…" The werewolf trailed off.

"I don't need to get laid." Sirius growled defensively.

"Well that's a first. I'm just saying you should consider it. You might calm down a bit."

"I can't help that she ticks me off Remus, and she'll crucify me no matter what I do. Me screwing some bird isn't going to change that."

The werewolf exhaled deeply, closing his eyes in frustration. "Fine. Don't say I didn't try. But you will go though? Tomorrow I mean."

Sirius sat up. "Course I will. I'd jump off a bloody cliff if she asked me to do it." He grumbled, before taking off toward his bedroom.

Remus stayed seated on the table shaking his head.

The next day, Rosie met Ginny in the common room early in the morning. Her friend was pale and peaky, and obviously hadn't slept a wink the night before.

She didn't bother to try and come up with empty words to sooth the girl. There were none. Instead, Rose took her hand in silent support and led her towards the lavatory, where they'd be meeting Dumbledore and presumably Sirius.

Rose's ex-godfather was waiting patiently with the headmaster, but when she walked around the corner his whole face lit up. It always amazed Rosie that her presence alone had the power to do that to someone and it made her feel bad that she'd exiled him.

The only time that she broke Ginny's grasp was when she leaned forward to hug the man.

"Hey Darlin'." He greeted softly, pulling her close and pressing his lips to the top of her head.

She pressed her face into his chest for a moment, breathed deeply, taking in his familiar cologne, and then pulled away. The apology was unnecessary and was left unsaid.

"So, are we ready to herd a basilisk?" Rosie found herself asking, throwing her arm over Ginny's shoulder to lighten the mood.

"I reckon so." Sirius smirked.

Dumbledore nodded. "When you're ready then Rose dear."

"Gin?" She questioned, turning to her friend.

"I'm ready." The girl responded, her voice barely above a whisper.

With the most important consent received, Rosie winked and escorted her group into the lavatory. Dumbledore had closed the whole wing of the school where the bathroom was located, and they were going to take it out the back where Charlie and some of the other dragon handlers would be waiting.

Unabashedly, Rose noticed the heat gathering between her legs at the thought of her best friend's older brother.

She let out a soft breathy sound and Sirius shot her an odd look, raising an eyebrow.

"You ok kid?" He questioned, touching her cheek affectionately.

" _Oh yes, just having inappropriate sex fantasies at a most inopportune time."_ Rosie replied in her head.

Instead of saying that, she just smiled, leaning into his touch and nodding. "Just nervous." She assured.

Dumbledore directed her over to the sink and Rosie sighed, this was it.

" _Open."_ She hissed, though she knew that any hissing would do it.

Just as it had before, the opening seemed to spring from nowhere, she Rose moved back. Instead of a slide, the stairs that she's asked for the last time held.

Ginny's breath hitched from beside her and Rosie slipped an arm around her shoulders, inviting her to step forward together.

"Rosie?" Her voice was small as they neared the bottom of the stairs.

She pulled her friend into the darkness of the landing, and Sirius reached out a hand to stop Dumbledore from descending any further.

"Gin. You'll regret it if you don't."

"What if I freak out?"

"Then I'll help you. The Professor there can attest that I destroyed Severus' kitchen when I had to do this."

Ginny looked up at the headmaster for confirmation.

"Indeed." He eyed Rose sympathetically.

Her friend smiled a little and nodded. "Ok, let's do this before I change my mind."

"Rose dear, is the Basilisk roaming freely?" Dumbledore prodded, sealing off the entrance behind them with magic.

"There's another door up there that's closed."

"Ouch!" Siri hissed, pulling his foot away from a sharp piece of bone.

"I think I should go in alone first." Rosie interjected.

Sirius eyed her warily. "Why is that precious?"

"I don't want the basilisk to eat any of you, and he already knows me."

"If you are confident in your ability to subdue it Rose, then by all means." The headmaster offered, and she winked.

Rosie turned to the door, hissed at it again, and held her hand out towards her comrades to stop them from following as she entered the chamber.

The snake was even larger than she remembered. It was coiled up in a ball and resembled a green mountain much more than it did a serpent. It was asleep she realized. Thinking quickly, Rosie covered her eyes. She didn't want it to wake up and accidently look at her. Sirius would definitely be scarred for life if he had to see her die.

" _Erm, hello?"_ Rose greeted, hissing softly at the beast through her hands.

" _Young speaker has returned."_

" _Ah. Yes, I have, but I need to know if its safe for me and my friends to come in here with our eyes open."_

" _Safe? Of course, it is safe. Will you let me out?"_

" _That's why we're here, but I need your help and your cooperation."_

" _Anything."_ The snake hissed, uncoiling.

Rosie had opened her eyes and was watching the massive beast stretch out its body and slither towards her. When he reached her, his flicked his long, forked tongue out to smell her again like the last time, and then nudged her hand with his head.

" _I should just call you Padfoot."_ She muttered, scratching him behind the eyes.

"Kay guys, you're good!" Rosie called out in the direction of the door.

Dumbledore didn't hesitate. He swept into the room and his eyes didn't even widen at the sight of the basilisk, which made Rose wonder what kind of things the man had seen in his life that would make the king of the serpents feel inadequate.

Poor Ginny has attached herself to Sirius, who was trying to pat her head in comfort, but just kept shooting nervous glances at Rosie and the snake.

The snake hissed in recognition. _"The young speaker has returned, with hair like fire…"_

Rose eyed Ginny. "C'mere love." She motioned for her friend to join her. "He knows you."

Sirius felt the Weasley girl detach herself from arm and sighed in relief. It wasn't that he wasn't willing to comfort her, it was just that he didn't know how. He wasn't even exactly sure what she had to do with this mysterious chamber, or why it made her so upset.

The most he'd heard was that somebody had taken her prisoner here in her first year. As soon as Ginny moved away from him, his eyes fell to Rose. She took the redhead into her arms like a child, or perhaps a little sister, and stroked her hair.

Albus had bypassed the basilisk and had begun to tour the chamber, obviously trusting Rosie's ability to control it. The idea made Sirius nervous, but she seemed to not even be trying to subdue the beast. It didn't look like it wanted to do anything aside from coil itself up and have a conversation with the two girls.

It was moments such as these that Rose Potter absolutely amazed him. She was becoming a leader. He'd started to notice the way she'd been taking control of herself lately, defending Cedric's memory up against skeptics, defending her own integrity… sure she got mad, but no daughter of James would be without a wicked temper.

Snape and Remus hadn't seemed to notice just how mature she was becoming. They were both so hung up on babying her, it was almost annoying. Sirius thought that in the end, it would only end up hindering her more. Now, as he watched her carefully navigate what appeared to be a difficult conversation between a basilisk and Ginny Weasley, he realized just how much she'd grown.

Rosie was gesturing around the room, pointing to different areas of the chamber in a combination of hissing and hushed english. Both the girl and the snake hung on her words, paying rapt attention, and although Sirius couldn't quite hear her from where he stood, he found himself watching her closely.

He looked for traces of Lily and James in her gestures, but he didn't find them. In that moment she didn't even really look like his former friends. Her hair was pulled back in a plait, and her eyes were wide and sympathetic. Her posture was firm but cautious, and her lips quivered with the barest of movements as she whispered to her friend.

Rose was beautiful. That had always been apparent, but when he really stopped to think about it, he couldn't take his eyes off her. She lit up every room, and she brought with her a certain innocent charm that made people either hate her or want her close to them.

Obviously, Sirius was the latter.

He had selfishly wished that Remus had pulled her out of school after the blood quill incident. What he wouldn't give to have her home every day. It wasn't that Remus was bad company, but he did spend quite a bit more time with Kingsley when Rose was away, and Rosie always made sure that Sirius was included.

When they weren't fighting.

Rose was so mindful of who she gave her attention to and when. Most of what she did was deliberate, and Sirius was putty in her hands. He hadn't been lying when he'd said that he'd jump off a cliff if she asked him to. There was almost nothing he wouldn't do for that girl.

Ginny Weasley had started to cry, and Rosie took the girl into her arms, running her hand up and down her back in comfort.

Sirius could hear her whispering, "I know, it's ok, I know." And he believed her.

Whatever horrible emotion that the younger girl was feeling, he new that Rose had already felt it.

When it seemed as though Rosie was wrapping up, and Ginny's cries had turned into hiccoughs, Albus approached gently.

Sirius, who wanted to be involved, move closer to listen to what the headmaster had to say.

"Would it be terribly difficult?" He heard the man ask, and Rose shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out." She replied, shooting the old man a playful look.

The headmaster handed Rosie several empty glass phials.

He listened careful as her normally soft, high voice came out as strangled hissing, her hand running along the side of the basilisk`s face. She seemed to be coaxing it.

After a moment, the beast opened its mouth, and Sirius had to physically restrain himself from reaching out to pull Rose back as she stuck her hand inside it. Placing the phial beneath one of the monster's large, milky white fangs, she hissed again and stroked along its jaw.

The basilisk began to release its venom like perspiration through the membrane over top of the fang, and the phial filled with a shimmery, clear liquid.

"Don't let it touch your skin Rose dear." Albus advised, placing a hand on her back in support.

She pulled away when the glass vial was full, and careful placed another empty one in its stead.

"Why do you need basilisk venom?" Sirius questioned, eying the headmaster.

"It's for Severus." Rosie answered for him. "Most of it anyways," She added.

"Of course, it is." He harrumphed.

"Siri, don't you dare start." She chided, and he found himself shutting up.

Ginny looked up at him and smirked, though her face was still blotchy and red.

It was much easier to lead the basilisk out of the castle than Sirius was expecting. Rose went ahead first and called the snake up after her. It followed lazily, without any deliberation, nearly knocking him over as its massive body moved through the doorway.

That wing of the school had been closed off, so there wasn't anyone to look out for aside Charlie and the other dragon handlers.

Fred and George Weasley were waiting with their brother and the other workers, and their purpose seemed to be for Ginny, as they herded her away from the snake and over to them, fussing over their sister's wellbeing.

Sirius stood beside the headmaster and watched as Rosie carefully explained how to say several commands in parseltongue, and how to keep the beast from opening its eyes as the other handlers directed it into a travel carrier.

Rosie pressed her hand to Charlie's chest, her heart fluttering as he flirted shamelessly with her. If only he didn't live in Romania. His smile was roguish and comforting, and again he reminded her of Sirius with his lax attitude and gentle prodding.

"You take care now Rose." He smirked, bending down to kiss her cheek.

She sighed with satisfaction and at the last moment, turned her face so that her lips met his instead of her cheek. Of course, the boy was receptive to the invitation and kissed her firmly on the mouth, running his hand down her back.

"My dearest Prongslet, Rose of my life, please quit that." Sirius interjected, coming up from behind.

"Guess I've gotta go." She winked, leaning back into her ex-godfather and laughing.

They watched as Charlie mounted his broom to join the others and waited until the basilisk and its accomplices disappeared into the morning sky before heading back into the castle. Ginny had left already, having been escorted away by her brothers, and Dumbledore was making his way leisurely back along the path they came.

"Thanks for inviting me love." Siri bit his lip, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

"You should thank Moony. He's a good friend to you, you know."

"Oh, I know. Believe me kid. I'd be nowhere without Remus."

"I was hoping that you might be willing to do a teensy, tiny little favor for me though… just to help smooth things over." She turned to him now, widening her eyes substantially and resting her hand on his chest.

Rosie stuck out her bottom lip just slightly, but enough to be manipulative.

"What is it?" He frowned, falling right into her trap.

"Well, I just think it would make me feel better if you apologized to Severus, you know, for being a mean bullying git in school."

"No, Rose, no bloody way. I'm not apologizing to that greasy death eater. You've got to be kidding." He reacted, his face twisting in disgust.

"Please Siri? Please please please." She begged, falling forward into him and wrapping her arms around his torso.

He growled.

"It would mean so much to me if you did. I would be so happy. I just love you both so much. I want you guys to get along more than anything."

"God you're killin me Rosie." He groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Just say you'll do it. Please?"

"Fuck! Fine. Fine. Whatever you want Rose. Just, fuck. Stop making that face."

"Oh, thank you!" She grinned, throwing her arms around his neck and allowing him to spin her as he so very much liked to do.

Severus was in his office, expecting her, as she had promised to visit him after the removal. He narrowed his eyes as she entered, dragging Siri along behind her.

"All went as planned?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup! Operation basilisk: complete. I brought Sirius here because he has something, he'd like to say to you." Rose announced, looking back toward the ex-con.

Severus pursed his lips, deepening his glare and turning it onto the other man.

"Sir. I expect you to listen to what Siri says and be nice." She crossed her arms indignantly.

That elicited a soft bark of laughter from Sirius.

"Go ahead Siri."

"Snape." He began…grumbling along. "I'm sorry for being a dick in school."

"And…" Rosie continued.

"And I'm sorry for trying to kill you in sixth year."

She beamed at him.

Severus was tense and uncomfortable, his lip curled in revulsion, but as she turned to pout at him, he nodded. It was a gesture so slight that she almost missed it. Rose took that as an acknowledgement of Sirius' words, and her smiled widened.

"I love you guys." She stated before leaning forward to pat Severus' back lightly and then dragging Sirius once again from the room.

Later that day, after saying goodbye to her ex-godfather, Rosie was on her way back up to find Ginny in Gryffindor tower with Hermione when she felt her stomach twist uncomfortably.

Someone was watching them.

Rose stopped and put her hand on Hermione's arm to stop her too.

"Did you hear that?" Rosie whispered, looking around.

"No… what are you…?" But Hermione didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before a jet of red light surged toward her.

Rosie reacted on instinct, her training from Sirius appearing forefront in her mind as she pulled her wand and erected a shield around them.

She saw a flicker of movement, and before she could even register the face of their attacker, she'd cast three consecutive spells.

Hermione gaped at her, as they moved over to check the now stunned, bound, and confused girl who had tried to disarm Hermione.

"You know, the rest of us could really use your help in defense Rosie." Mione noted as they stood over the frozen form of Pansy Parkinson.


	100. Chapter 100

Hermione stared at the Rosie, waiting for her to make a decision about what to do with Pansy. Honestly, Rose was a bit worried to rennervate the girl. There was only reason that Pansy Parkinson would try to attack her out of nowhere in the corridor.

"Rose. You can't leave her like this!" Her friend hissed.

"I'm not. I'm not. I just need to think up a story."

"This is what you get for sleeping with someone else's boyfriend! Honestly Rose, I'd expect you of all people to avoid doing that."

Rosie glared. She absolutely hated being reminded of Cedric's fling with Meadow.

"I'm just saying." Hermione simpered.

"Just, stop talking Mione." She snapped.

She raised her wand again, deciding not to delay too much, and with a wave, revived Draco's girlfriend, unbinding her hands and feet.

Pansy sat up, disoriented on the floor. She rubbed at her eyes and then looked up, making eye contact with Rose, her lips parting.

Rosie held out a hand to her awkwardly.

The girl scoffed and rejected the offer.

"You're a real piece of work Potter." She spat.

She held her lips together, not sure what to say. It wasn't like she really had a good excuse.

Pansy stood up and brushed off her skirt, glaring viciously at Rose, but the girl looked close to tears.

"How did you find out?" She asked finally, biting her lip and looking to Hermione.

"What? That you're fucking my boyfriend? Or that he actually has feelings for you?" Pansy hissed.

Her eyes widened. "Uh. Both."

"I've known for months that he's been getting his dick wet with someone else, found out it was you over the summer, but fuck, did you have to actually steal him?"

Pansy's lip trembled and Rosie's heart clenched at the sight.

"I don't have feelings for Malfoy. It's nothing. We don't even like each other."

"Maybe you are as dumb as you look." The other girl retorted, putting up her hands in defeat.

Rose frowned, not disagreeing. "I'll stop." She offered.

"Oh, you'll stop now. Now that you're caught right? You know, everyone loves you Potter but one day they're all gonna see through this innocent act you've got going. They'll all see that you're nothing more than a filthy, boyfriend stealing whore."

Pansy left after that, almost shoving Rose out of the way in her haste to leave the corridor, obviously feeling chagrined that her plan had failed.

As soon as the girl disappeared, Rosie felt her eyes begin to sting and water. Thoughts of Ginny and returning to the common room were the farthest fromm her mind, and Hermione didn't seem to know what to do or say.

"Rose…" She started cautiously, but Rosie held up a hand to stop her.

"I`m just gonna go find Severus. I want to go home."

The potions master wasn't at his desk or in his office and Rose knew that if she were any other student, he would actually murder her for invading his private area and using the floo illegally, but she really didn't want to be at school anymore. Rosie just wanted to hide.

So, instead of being respectful, and a good child, she did exactly as she wasn't supposed to, and used the floo without permission. She was already a whore; she might as well break another rule.

Nobody was in the kitchen at Grimmauld. The sitting room was empty too, and for a moment, she almost turned around and went back, but the desire to talk to someone was too strong.

The last thing that Rosie wanted in that moment was to see her godfather naked again. Though, if she were being honest, it wasn't Moony that she felt like talking to.

Sirius was in his room, and he answered the door when she knocked, his face changing from confusion, to surprise, and then to concern when he realized who she was, and that she'd been crying.

"Rosie? Oh, precious what are you doing here?" He sighed, taking her into his arms.

"I'm a really bad person." She cried, clinging tightly to him, her fingers curling into the fabric of his t-shirt.

Sirius rubbed her back. "Bullshit. Don't do this Rose."

"Do what? I'm doing everything wrong!"

He tightened his grip on her. "You're not."

"Don't lie to me Sirius. I didn't come here to talk to Moony." She muttered into his chest.

Sirius let out a laugh. "What do you want me to say Rosie? Yes, you're a fucking shitty person. It was absolutely awful of you to spend your Saturday saving the life of a dangerous magical creature and helping your best friend."

Her ex-godfather smirked at her, pulling Rosie with him back onto the bed. It seems as though he meant for them to sit beside each other, but Rose leaned into his chest so that she was laying pressed up against him.

He patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"Draco's girlfriend tried to hex me in the hall. Then she called me a whore."

"Ah. That's what this is about."

"She says he has feelings for me. Like not sex feelings."

Sirius was silent for a moment, running his fingers along her arm in comfort.

"Do you have feelings for him? Not sex feelings, I mean."

Rosie looked up at him and wrinkled her nose. "No. I mean, I like sleeping with him, but he's not nice at all, and he's more messed up than me."

"So, you need to make that clear then love. Did the girlfriend hurt you at all?" He frowned.

"No, she tried to hex Hermione first, so I stunned her."

"You're getting really good with your firing speed." He ruffled her hair.

"Way to change the subject." She teased.

"Hey, I'm just proud. You know I'm not gonna sit here and lecture you."

"I know Siri." Rosie huffed out a breath and then shut her eyes, relaxing into his touch.

Severus was so cross in the morning. Rose hadn't even realized that they'd fallen asleep. Nor had Sirius apparently, and when she was finally roused into consciousness it was by a red faced and enraged potion's master.

"Oh, fucking hell." Siri groaned, running his fingers through his hair and trying to sit up. "This isn't as bad as it looks, I swear."

It was then that Rose realized their position. Her face was pressed into her ex-godfather's chest, and he had an arm thrown over her body.

"Hi Severus." She mumbled.

"Rose. Get up." He hissed.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I just…"

"Quiet." Her guardian snapped.

"Snape don't be pissed at Rosie. I shouldn't've fallen asleep."

Severus ignored Siri and turned back to her. "What are you doing here? You have failed to attend your occlumency lesson this morning and instead, I find you lying about in bed with your godfather."

"He's not my godfather." She glared.

"Rosie that's not helping." Siri choked, poking her back.

"I just wasn't in a good mood and wanted to come home."

"You are the only student at Hogwarts who feels entitled to walk in and out of that school as though it's a playground. Boarding school indicates that your presence is required at the school at all times."

"Well I was crying, and you were off somewhere probably being a fucking death eater, and Moony's not here, and who else am I supposed to turn to then? It was this or having hate sex with Draco!"

Severus cringed so hard at that whole statement. "Rose. You are enrolled in a learning institution in Scotland. You cannot be traipsing around Europe on a whim every time you feel a strong emotion."

"Well then I just want to stay here. I don't want to be in school anymore."

"That is not an option."

"I don't want to go back Severus. I don't want to. All I need to learn is defense anyways. It's not like I'm gonna kill the bloody dark lord with charms! Maybe I could transfigure him into a pincushion!" Her voice was raised and slightly hysterical.

The potions master rubbed at his temples, and she was too stressed to realize that she'd just revealed the prophecy to him.

"Rose Potter. You will return to the school with me. Now."

She held her ground.

It wasn't until Sirius leaned in and whispered in her ear that she finally relaxed. "Rosie, precious. Go with Snape. We'll see you for lessons, and you need to go to school. Your mom would want you to go to school."

"I hate you all." She growled, moving close enough to Severus for him to reach out and grab hold of her arm.

When they were back in his office, he sat her down, his stare poignant. "You are much to old to be sharing a bed with Sirius Black."

"What are you talking about? I sleep in Moony's bed all the time."

"In case it has escaped your attention, Lupin is gay. Black is most definitely not gay."

"You're not gay."

"And we do not share a bed." Severus continued.

"So, you're saying that if I did sleep in your bed, you'd want to molest me?"

"Of course not." He snapped, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Severus don't be gross. It's not like that. He was my dad's best friend. I just like to be close to him sometimes."

She knew it was low…to pull the dad card like that with Severus, but she wanted him to stop bothering her about it. Sirius would never do anything to make her feel uncomfortable like that.

"Go study Rose. You have a potions essay due tomorrow." He rebuked.

"You're just going to give me another P."

"Perhaps, were you to apply yourself, you might receive an acceptable."

"I don't need potions anyways." She shrugged.

Severus came closer, reaching out to stroke her face with his fingertips. "I have every faith in your ability to fulfill this prophecy child, but it would be reassuring to know that you had every available resource at your disposable."

That was probably, the nicest thing that Severus had ever said to her. It actually made her feel a bit choked up.

"I'm sorry for telling you."

"I already knew." He sighed. "Do not leave this castle again without express permission."

Rosie left the dungeon in search of Hermione. She felt like maybe she might put a bit more effort into this potions essay than she normally did.

If Rose had been asked a week ago which one of her friends she would classify as the maddest, she would have said Sirius. However, now, it seemed like Hermione had gone off her rocker. Apparently, her muggleborn friend hadn't been joking when she'd said that it would be nice for Rosie to teach the rest of the class defense.

While Rose had been at Grimmauld, Mione had gotten Ron, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati to agree to some secret defense club meetup taught by Rosie herself.

According to her friend, there would be a meeting at the Hog's Head during the next Hogsmeade weekend to discuss the specifics. Rose remembered Severus telling her in her third year that the Hog's Head was owned by Dumbledore's brother, and she wondered if he would tell the headmaster about the meeting, but she didn't voice the concern to Hermione.

That Wednesday, Rosie grinned as she received her potions essay back with a large red 'A' scrawled across the top. Severus nodded his approval at her as he handed it back.

Moony had chided her softly for leaving school during her lesson with him and apologized for not being there to comfort her. He said that he'd usually spend a night or two a week over at Kingsley's when she was at school, which Rosie hadn't realized.

She was glad that he was her legal guardian, so that he couldn't leave her and move in with Kingsley without being charged with abandonment.

The night before the proposed meeting, Ginny had come bursting into the fifth-year girl's dormitory squealing with happiness. Rose looked up from what she was reading and smiled.

"Hey."

"Rosie! I did it!" The girl flounced. Bouncing onto the bed with an energized vigor.

"You did? Just now?" She grinned, knowing exactly what her friend was talking about.

"What did you do?" Mione's brows furrowed as she and the other girls turned to face them.

The redhead blushed.

"Ginny had sex!"

"Rose!" She shrieked, and Hermione laughed.

"You're embarrassing her! That's private." Mione hissed playfully.

"Well, did you enjoy it then?" Rosie pressed.

Ginny cocked her head. "Sort of… it didn't hurt, so for me that feels like a success."

"Yeah, that's how I felt the first time with Ced. I was mostly proud that I was able to, I wasn't really focused on much else. It'll get better every time though."

"When Ron and I had sex for the first time, he told me that he'd read a book, to figure out what would feel good." Hermione confessed.

"That might be my fault." Rose twirled her hair.

"What was?"

"Well, he told me he was afraid of hurting you, so I pointed him in the way of research."

"Ron talked to you about our sex life?" She gasped.

"Um… yes, but don't be cross with him, he was just concerned! Dean and I talked too. People just ask me because everyone knows I was raped, and so they just assume I know about this stuff."

The girls quieted down after that. Nobody liked to talk about rape.

After minute Ginny piped up again. "I'm really excited that you'll be teaching us defense. Umbridge is awful. We haven't learned anything."

"Well, I guess we'll see if I've retained anything from my own lessons then."

"Uh, I saw what you did to Parkinson Rosie, I think you're qualified."

"What did you do to Pansy Parkinson?" Ginny frowned and Rose groaned. Her best friend didn't know yet about Malfoy.

The next morning, Hermione had braided her hair, and Rosie dressed warmly, preparing for the chill of the winter air. She walked into the village with her friends but felt a bit like a fifth wheel. Ginny and Dean, still reeling from becoming sexually active were lost in each other's faces. Ron and Hermione were usually a bit better, but Rose was still caught in the middle.

It hadn't been like that the previous year. Rosie had always walked in with Cedric. Ced wouldn't have liked the idea of Rose teaching him defense. He was too proud, but he would've come anyways to support her.

She nearly turned around when they entered the pub. There were almost triple the number of students that Hermione had said, and they weren't just fourth and fifth years. There were younger and older students, some familiar, and some not.

"This is too much Mione. I can't." She hissed, but her friend just took her arm and pulled her through.

It was all going well until somebody in the crowd asked a grotesque question about Cedric's death and Rosie froze.

"I'm sorry. Did you just ask me to describe how my boyfriend died?" She choked, staring down Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff.

"Well, if you want us to believe that you-know-who is back…" He trailed off.

"This is not why I came here." Rosie spat, trying to wrestle her way out of the tavern.

"Rose wait!" Dean shouted. "Nobody will ask anymore stupid questions if they want to stay." He tried to assure her, his tone threatening.

Ron asked her then to describe her experience in defense and she shrugged.

"People usually just try to kill me, but they haven't yet. My godfather, Professor Lupin tutors me, and so does my ex-godfather Sirius. He was an auror."

"Sirius Black tutors you?" A younger boy asked.

"Yup. He lives with me too."

"So, what can you do?" Parvati smiled, trying to move the conversation along.

"Erm… stun people and stuff?" She coughed.

"She's being modest. I watched her block, stun, and bind someone in five seconds flat." Mione interjected.

"She can produce a corporeal patronus!" Ron added.

"She fought He-who-must-not-be-named and won. Twice." Cho Chang from Ravenclaw piped up.

Rosie held up her hand then. "I was a baby, and my mother is the one who defeated him, and the second time was just luck."

"Rosie." Ginny scoffed.

"No. I'm serious. No amount of training prepares you for the reality of being about to die, or watching someone you love die in front of you, so yeah, you need to know a lot of stuff, but if you can't block out your fear you won't be able to do anything."

"How do you block out your fear?" Colin Creevey asked.

"Occlumency mostly, and focus. The patronus helps too."

"You're an occlumens?"

The questions were tiring, but by the end, the group seemed to have judged her to be a competent witch, and they all formed a line to sign some group paper that Hermione had charmed.

She wasn't paying much attention to the people signing. The process seemed to go on for ages. Parvati, Lavender, Colin, Dean, Cho, Michael, Zacarias, Fred, George, Luna, Neville until someone else stepped up and Rosie froze.

Meadow stood in front of her, a questioning look on her face, quill in hand.

She closed her eyes and her heart skipped a beat, discomfort settling in her stomach. Rose could feel Ginny take her hand from the side. Ron spoke from behind them.

"I don't think that's a good idea." He said, eying the head girl.

"I just want to learn Rose. I know that it's hard for you to see me, but I just hope we can move past this. For Cedric."

"That's enough." Ron spoke again. "I don't think you should be here."

Pansy's face flashed through her mind briefly, the look of hurt that she had tried so desperately to mask, and on a whim, Rosie sighed and opened her mouth.

"It's fine. Stay. Everyone should be prepared." She allowed, and then she stood up and began to walk back up towards the castle.

Cedric's face floated around in her head, her eyes watery and her chest tight.


	101. Chapter 101

**AN- I have another story recommendation guys. If you have not read Yellow Submarine by deadwoodpecker, please do. It is an incredibly powerful story that deals with sexual abuse brilliantly. I cried reading it. It is a Ginny/Harry ship.**

 **To the unkind person leaving me guest reviews on the first chapter… I wonder if maybe you should relax a bit, seeing as this is a fanfiction site and not a publishing company. If I want to make a fucked-up Girl Harry character, I am very much allowed to, and you are also very much allowed to not read the story. That is the beauty of Harry Potter fanfiction. There is something for everyone! So, hats off to you Guest reviewer. I hope you find the perfect story for you. Maybe check out the one I recommended above.**

The first lesson of the new defense club was supposed to be before Christmas break, but Rosie had to attend her own defense lesson with Severus the night that it was going to be held, so they decided to begin after the break.

Severus was still adamant that she attend his lesson on the killing curse, even though the very idea repulsed her. He stood; arms crossed by the desk in his office and appraised her when she walked in.

"I don't want to have this lesson." She started.

"How you expect to kill the dark lord without the killing curse is a mystery to me, unless you intend to use a more violent, jarring form of dark magic, in which case I am happy to offer my services."

"Severus, please. I don't want to fight about this. I'm not ready to learn this yet."

"What is your largest trepidation in learning to cast it? Is it the required intent, the physical death of the victim?"

"It's that every time I see it cast, I see my mom die again in my head."

The potions master stilled. "I understand Rose, and I am sorry, but it is essential that you learn."

"Can you tell me about when you cast it? Who did you kill?"

Her guardian sighed. "You do so relish in provoking my conscience Rose Lily."

"I'm not asking to make you feel bad." She frowned. "I just… need help."

"I killed my father, as an initiation into the death eater ranks the year I graduated Hogwarts."

Rosie couldn't help it. Her mouth fell open in shock.

Just as soon as she reacted, she slammed her lips together again trying to mask it.

"Oh." Was all she replied. "Do you regret it?"

"Yes and no." The corner of his mouth turned up into a wistful smirk.

"It brought me no sadness to see him die; however, killing… splits the soul. It takes something away from you each time. It is for that reason that I had no desire to instruct you in this particular area of magic."

"So, you're scared my soul will split?"

"Essentially. Though Albus swears that there is a method for this to end where no such curse must be cast. He wishes you to learn it as a precaution, in case it is required of you."

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll give it a go."

He nodded his approval. "In that case, I have two pieces of homework for you. One will be accomplished right now, and the other will be an ongoing process over the winter break."

Rosie quirked an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain. "Over the holiday, it is necessary that you attempt to pinpoint memories or people, excluding your father, that incite a strong hate emotion from within you, and you need to practice holding the hatred for short bursts of time."

She harrumphed but did not object. "What's the other thing?"

"You must disclose to me your very least favorite animal." He replied, his voice gentler than normal, knowing how she would react to such a statement.

Her hands clenched into fists by her sides. "Severus…" She whined.

"Any animal child. A spider, a snake…"

"Definitely not a snake. If you make me kill a snake I'll die."

"I apologize. I wasn't thinking."

"Maybe a worm… she admitted slowly."

"The spell will be more effectively learned with something slightly larger Rose. Might I suggest…a rat?"

Rose was biting her lip, hard. She didn't think she really had much choice in the matter, so for the time being she just nodded. "Only if we call it Wormtail."

There were only a few days left before the Christmas holidays were to begin and Ginny and Rosie had stayed up late into the night gossiping and chatting about Dean, and some of the other boys in Gryffindor. It hadn't taken much time for Rose to fall asleep afterwards, but she was immediately plagued with one of the same dreams that her occlumency shields just couldn't seem to block out.

It was one of those silly ministry corridors again. Voldemort just didn't seem to understand that Rose already knew it was a ploy, a trick to lure her to the Ministry, to retrieve the prophecy, only, this dream was a little different.

For one, Rosie was lower to the ground. Actually, it felt as though she were laying on the ground but moving forward at the same time.

The corridor was long, and she felt the same false emotions as was typical. There was curiosity and longing mixing in with her regular sleep emotions, which she knew were from him. Rose herself did not long to go beyond that door.

The strange thing was, that she was speaking parseltongue. She was muttering nonsense really, but she could tell it was parseltongue by the way in felt on her lips. Rosie was beginning to be able to tell the different between speaking snake language and speaking english.

Typically, this particular dream died at the door to the hall of prophecies, but this time, the door opened.

From her vantage point on the floor, Rose could see a figure walking up and down the hallways in between rows and rows of glass orbs, his wand held up by his head lighting the way.

It was Arthur Weasley.

A surge of anger swelled up in her belly, or was it her chest? It was hard to tell from this angle. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to get Mr. Weasley out of the hall. She hated him. He was in her way, and she needed to remove him.

Rosie felt a hiss travel all the way up from her tail to her neck and at that point she didn't even question the idea that she had a tail. The desire to maim the Weasley patriarch was too great, and too tempting.

It was almost orgasmic, to feel her fangs pierce his skin, cutting through him over and over again. She could taste the coppery blood on her tongue and in her throat. His flesh was soft like butter in her mouth. Each time she struck; Rosie savored the sound of his screams until there were no screams left to savor.

Rose gasped as she awoke, her t-shirt drenched in sweat and her hair stuck to her face in damp strands. She could still taste the blood in her throat, though perhaps that was because her scar was bleeding.

"Ginny!" Rosie called out, her voice breaking. Arthur Weasley was going to die, and she had been the one to kill him.

Severus and Dumbledore wore expressions so grave that she thought for certain Mr. Weasley must have died already, that Rose had been too late.

The twins were nestled together with Ginny in between, eyes closed and expressions fearful. Mione had been roused by Rosie, and so she was awake to comfort Ron. Once the proper St. Mungos staff were alerted and Arthur was retrieved, the waiting game began.

Dumbledore started to question her.

"My dear, during your dream, were you looking down at the scene, or perhaps peering up from above?"

Rosie knew what he was asking.

"I was the snake sir. I can still taste blood."

Fred's head snapped up and Severus' hand tightened its grip on her shoulder.

"He keeps trying to lure me there with these stupid visions Professor. I'm just so tired of it. I don't want to be in his head, and I don't want to be in his snake. What's happening to me?"

"My dear girl. I know it must be very upsetting but do try to look on the bright side. You very well might've saved Arthur Weasley's life tonight."

"I'm still not sure that I wasn't the one who hurt him in the first place!" She cried.

"No…Rosie you would never." Ginny piped up. "It wasn't your fault. It would've happened anyways." Her friend was tearful but sincere.

"I just wanna go home. I don't want to be at school anymore." Rose sighed, leaning onto Severus tiredly.

The potions master eyed the headmaster and nodded.

"I'll floo call Remus." Dumbledore smiled.

As it turned out, the decision was made that the Weasleys would all be accompanying Rosie back to Grimmauld for the duration of the holidays to wait out news on their father's condition and allow him time to recover.

Dumbledore opened access through his floo, and Severus was about to send her through when Rose turned back to thank the headmaster.

"Sir… thanks for believing me." She started, but as she caught his eye, a different emotion sparked from within her.

Suddenly, it was all Rosie could do to stop herself from strangling the pathetic old man She moved forward, her hands held out in front of her, chest tight with rage and eyes blazing. There was nobody else in the world that she wanted dead more than Albus Dumbledore.

"Rose Lily Potter, what do you think you're doing?" Severus hissed, gripping onto her arm tightly.

That brought Rosie out of her stupor. She shook her head and blinked, taking in her surroundings and she was horrified to find that her hands were actually held out towards the headmaster as if to strangle him. There was a fear behind his eyes, but she could tell that it wasn't the fear of death.

"What did I just do?" She whispered.

The two men seemed to have another one of their eye contact conversations before Severus sighed and rubbed her arm.

"I will be at your house for Christmas." Her guardian began. "Child, it is essential that you maintain your occlumency shields as best you can over the break. Do I have your agreement?"

"Yes sir, but…"

"Go home Rose. Go comfort Miss. Weasley."

She could tell that she'd be receiving no more information that evening. With a resigned sigh and nervous belly, Rosie made her way through the floo.

Sirius was already there keeping vigil and making tea, and his face split into a grin when he saw her.

"Hey Siri. Where's Moony?" She asked, giving him a one-armed hug.

"He's upstairs love."

Rosie nodded and then began to ascend the stairs mechanically.

Her godfather was making beds, and when Rose came up behind him her jumped.

"Darling you scared me. Are you alright?" He smiled.

"Can I sleep with you? I just wanna go to bed." She asked tentatively.

His face softened. "Of course, you can princess."

Pacified, Rose drifted off to sleep next to her godfather wondering why this felt different from sleeping in the same bed as Sirius.

In the morning, Rosie woke up with a pang of nerves settling in her gut. Moony wasn't in bed anymore, and the silence was frightening. There had be no word on Mr. Weasley's condition before she'd fallen asleep.

There was a slow shuffling at the end of the bed, and she looked up to see Kreacher fiddling with a folded pair of her tights.

"Mistress Rose wonders what Kreacher is doing. Kreacher is caring for his most respected mistress."

"G'morning Kreacher. Any word on Mr. Weasley?"

"The blood-traitor, leader of the red headed miscreants is alive. A disgrace, besmirching the honor of the Black family home old Kreacher thinks." He wheezed.

"Hey, don't be a jerk. Where's Moony?"

"The half-breed is with master in the kitchen. Kreacher cannot help but wonder why his mistress is passed between master and the half-breed as though she were a common muggle whore."

"What did you just say?" Rosie sat up.

"Kreacher sees his mistress in his master's bed and in the half-breed's bed. He wonders which she will choose."

"Oh god, I'm not choosing anyone. I'm not with Moony or Sirius. It's just sleeping Kreacher."

"Kreacher hopes that his mistress forms a union of marriage with Master Sirius despite his mistresses' dirty blood."

"You what? No, I'm not listening to this junk right now Kreacher. I'm not with Master Sirius."

"Kreacher will be quiet, but Kreacher does not believe his Mistress' lie, oh no. Kreacher knows."

The elf stroked her leg for a moment and then popped away, leaving the clothes from his hands on the end of the bed.

Rosie shook her head. That elf was barking mad.

The Weasley's weren't downstairs when she made her way down and she assumed that they'd all gone to bed after finding out that their father would be alright. Instead, she paused outside the kitchen when she heard the hushed voices of her godfather and Sirius.

"Severus has advised me to watch her closely for any out of character behavior. I guess she nearly attacked the headmaster last night out of the blue. They're worried that she might be influenced occasionally by Voldemort's feelings."

"Poor girl can't catch a break." Siri chimed in. "I thought Snape said she was good at occlumency."

"She is. I guess the connection is stronger. It was strong enough that she could stop Voldemort from torturing Severus. It only makes sense that it'd work the other way around."

"So, you think that Voldemort might try to use Rosie to hurt Dumbledore?"

"I hope not." Moony sighed.

"Just kill me." Rosie groaned, entering the kitchen.

The men startled. "Why would you say that sweet pea?" Moony asked.

"Because, it saves Voldemort the trouble. If he gets enough power to control my mind even with occlumency, then who's to say he won't just make me jump off a bridge or something myself?"

"Rose. Fuck, don't talk like that." Siri growled. "You wouldn't let him. You can fight the Imperius curse. I'm sure if you tried you could fight a possession too."

"It's not the same thing at all. The Imperius splits yours mind into two parts. When I feel him in my head, it's not me and him, it's just him. It's like he turns into me or I turn into him. I don't even realize it's happening."

"Well, he pushed you out that other time, when Sniv-Snape was being tortured."

"That's because he's stronger than me Siri. A lot stronger."

Kingsley came over later to give an update, smiling at Rose, and then kissing Moony on the cheek. It was really sweet to see her godfather grin like a schoolboy.

Ginny was still attached to the twins who rubbed her back as Kingsley told them then Arthur would have to remain in the hospital to recover for the majority of the break, but that he was out of the woods.

Molly would be coming by later to talk with her children, and Rosie nearly sighed with annoyance. The Weasley matriarch had quickly become somebody that she did not enjoy being around, especially when her godfather and Sirius were also present.

It was as though Mrs. Weasley wanted to fight for control of Rose with Moony. She didn't want her to listen to order meetings or talk about order business. She didn't even seem to want Rosie to think about the war.

Normally, Rose would be more than willing to forget about the war, but it was difficult with a prophecy hanging over her head and a dark lord living inside her mind.

For those reasons, and although she knew that Molly's intentions were good, she just didn't enjoy being around her as of late.

Feeling a bit overcrowded and wanting to give Moony some space to chat with Kinglsey, Rosie eyed Siri and they escaped upstairs in his bedroom.

"Do you think he'll tell Kingsley about the wolf thing?" Rosie frowned.

"Probably not hon. He doesn't tell people, usually just waits for them to guess."

"But isn't that harder? What if Kingsley's mad because he lied, not because he's a werewolf?"

"You go right ahead and try telling Remus that love, see how far you get." His mouth turned up in a smirk.

"I have. He doesn't believe me."

"Well to be fair, Rose of my life, you're not exactly a relationship expert."

"Hey! I was with Ced for longer than you've ever been with anyone." She stuck her tongue out.

"And Draco Malfoy." He coughed.

"You git!" Rosie laughed, and Siri lunged forward.

He hooked his fingers into her sides and Rosie fell onto his bed giggling madly. He was tickling her, and she careened back into him, wiggling and squirming in her attempts to escape.

Her ex-godfather was barking with laughter, pulling her closer only to mercilessly attack her again every time.

It wasn't until they began to settle down, Rosie still pressed against him, that she felt something digging into her side, something hard, and she flushed with embarrassment knowing exactly what it was.

Sirius seemed to realize at the exact same moment because he pulled back abruptly. She barely caught a glimpse of his face, but she could tell that his cheeks were scarlet.

He turned around, his back to her and when he spoke it was harsh.

"Go back to your room Rose."

"Siri…" She tried, but he snapped at her.

"Just get out of here." He growled.

"Sirius please. Just relax…"

"Fuck Rose. Go back to your bloody room. I'm not going to say it again."

Sometime later, after being exiled to her bedroom, Sirius came knocking. He wouldn't look at her, his face pointing down towards the floor, head hung in shame.

"Prongslet, we need to talk. I need to…"

She patted the bed next to her and he sat down. Siri sat down and then looked up at her just enough to meet her eyes, and Rosie could see that he was barely even trying to conceal the layer of self-hatred reflected within the grey.

"I'm sorry Siri. I'm sorry for making that happen. I shouldn't've…"

"No." He croaked. "God don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the fucking sicko who…"

"Get's a hard on while tickling his goddaughter." She finished for him.

"Ahh." He moaned, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Siri. It's fine. Some things don't need to be discussed in order for them to be understood."

"God, but what are you even understanding from that? That your godfather's a fucking pervert."

"Ex-godfather." She corrected him, reaching out to pat his arm. "I understand that there comes a point in which I'm too old for tickling."

"Rosie, shit, that sounds really bad."

"It's not. Just relax. You didn't hurt me, or scare me, or anything. I'm like fifteen, and we're not biologically related. It's normal, so don't make such a big deal out of it."

He cringed again, but then sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry, Precious."

She shook her head. "Don't be. I love you. Just don't yell at me again."

"I won't kid, and I won't do that again…"

"Maybe you need to get a girlfriend Siri." She suggested, smirking at him.

"Rose, no love."

"Don't hold back because of me. I know you'll always love me the best." Rosie giggled.

"No, it's not that. I just already have everything I need." He finished confidently.

"Alright, if you say so, but Hestia Jones is pretty, and that Tonks woman."

"Tonks is my bloody cousin you brat." He hissed.

It almost looked like he was going to lean in and tickle her again, but he seemed to realize this, stop himself and instead, reached out to nudge her arm playfully.


	102. Chapter 102

**AN- Guys I am so sorry, for some reason I've had terrible writers block. This is the first chapter out of 102 that I've posted that I'm not entirely happy with and it's short, but I figured I'd post it anyways because it's been like almost 2 weeks since I've updated.**

Rosie really loved the Weasleys. She did. They felt like an extended family, for the most part…though she supposed that you weren't supposed to sleep with the members of your extended family. Either way, she loved them, but having every Weasley crammed into tight quarters at Grimmauld place for a week was a challenge. Typically, the Christmas holiday was something she enjoyed with Severus, Moony, and now Sirius, but this year, the house was packed.

Just that morning, Rosie had accidentally walked in on Fred wanking in the loo, and then just after that, she'd gotten a full view of Ron's pale arse as she passed his room.

"I don't know how you do it Gin Gin." Rose huffed, sitting down at the kitchen table with her best friend and Moony.

"Do what?" She laughed.

"Brothers. I guess that's the only good thing about having dead parents. No siblings."

"Rose." Moony admonished, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, that was crude."

Mrs. Weasley had already taken off to visit Arthur at St. Mungos, so Moony was cooking.

"Do you think I would've had siblings Moony?"

Her godfather frowned. "Well, at that time… James and Lily were very concerned about your safety, and I doubt that they would've risked having another, but perhaps if the war had finished in a different manner you would've had a sibling."

"Harry Potter." Rosie finished wistfully.

"Maybe Princess."

"If I ever have a kid, that's what I'll name it." She announced.

"Harry? Your mother would be jealous."

Rose shrugged. "Just an idea. I probably won't have kids anyways. One, I hate them, and two, there's like a fifty-fifty chance that I'll be killed in the next few years, so…"

"Rose!" Ginny and Moony both gasped at the same time.

"I don't want to hear you talk like that my love. Please." He sighed.

"I'm sorry." She whined.

"Sorry for what?" Siri asked, coming into the room, his arms raised as he pulled a shirt down over his head.

"Upsetting Moony with the possibility of my impending death."

Her ex-godfather cringed. "Don't talk like that."

"Good morning to you too."

The rest of the Weasley clan began to pile into the kitchen. Siri sat on her other side, and the twins sat across from her. Ron was moping because Hermione had gone home for Christmas, so he lingered on the other side. Charlie and Bill had been in and out visiting since Arthur's injury, but neither of them were there for breakfast.

"Precious, do you think you could convince Kreacher to clean the bedrooms?" Siri asked, helping himself to the eggs.

While initially, it had pissed Sirius off that the little elf liked her and not him, he was quickly realizing that the advantages were far greater than the disadvantages.

"I can try." She winked. "Kreacher."

The decrepit old elf popped into the kitchen, bowing low for her, and smiling his creepy little smile. "Mistress is needing Kreacher?"

Sirius watched her interact with him carefully, like he was taking notes.

"Yes, Kreacher, would you mind cleaning the bedrooms while we have guests over?"

"Kreacher's mistress wishes for him to clean up after the filthy blood traitor scum… Kreacher will."

"Thank you." She smiled, making a mental note to raid Regulus' room again later.

"Kreacher lives to serve his most respected _Mistress Black_."

The elf spoke just as Rosie went to take a drink of her pumpkin juice and his words caused her to spit it up all over her chin.

Everyone in hearing range stilled and Siri's mouth dropped open.

Rose slammed down her glass and lunged toward him. "You brat! My name is Potter! Not Black you evil little git!" She laughed.

Kreacher stepped away deftly, avoiding her touch.

"Of course, mistress. Kreacher knows. Kreacher will press his ears with the iron for his mistake." The elf was smirking.

"Uh. What was that about?" Sirius asked, his eyes wide.

Her cheeks flushed. "Hewantsmetomarryyou." She said all at once.

"Speak up Rosie, I didn't quite hear you." George ordered, his eyes shining with mirth, indicating that he had in fact heard her.

"He wants me to marry you, so that I become a Black, and he can listen to me and not you. He's been dropping all these not-so-subtle hints all of a sudden."

"That's… really weird." Siri exhaled, the silence stretching on longer than was comfortable.

"Let's talk about things that make other people feel awkward." Rosie suggested. "Like how Fred needs to learn to lock the bathroom door, or how Ginny and Dean are having sex now."

"Rosie!" Her friend screeched.

"Ohhh, Gin Gin no." Fred moaned.

"Urgh! You're the worst Rose." Ginny growled. "Maybe everyone would like to know about your plans to seduce Charlie this Christmas, _again_."

"Alright. Breakfast is officially over now." Moony stood up, placing his hands down on the table.

"But… Professor Lupin…"

"Ah." He held up a hand, silencing the protest.

"Rosie, please go and get yourself ready to cut down a tree with Sirius. The rest of you… go wrap presents, write your father, make yourselves useful."

The Weasleys did as they were told, and Rose felt bad for putting Ginny in the hotseat, but she'd make it up to her later. Unwilling to disobey a direct command from her godfather, Rosie went upstairs to dress herself for the cold and find the axe so that she and Siri could continue their, now traditional, chopping of a tree.

When she descended the stairs, Sirius was waiting, equally bundled up. He held out his arm and she linked hers with his.

"You know, you are so much like your dad sometimes kid. It just makes me laugh."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She challenged.

"I just mean that you're so blunt. He was like that, didn't give a damn who was uncomfortable, he just said what was on his mind."

"Hmm, well, I wouldn't have had to say anything if your elf wasn't a nutter."

Sirius let out a laugh. "Give me that." He leaned toward her, taking the axe by the handle and pulling it from her hand playfully.

"Hey! Don't pretend that you're any better at using it than I am!" She shrieked, trying to grab it back.

He held the weapon up above his head and she jumped up to try and reach it.

"Give that back Sirius Black. You git!"

"And what will you give me?" He retorted.

"Exactly what you deserve!" She hissed, attempting to knock it out of his hands.

"Fine, fine. You can have it, on one condition."

"What?" Rosie narrowed her eyes at him.

"You have to be one hundred percent, completely honest with me, veritaserum honest, the whole time we're out tree hunting."

"Hm, and if I say no?"

"Then this is my axe." He smirked.

"Fine. I'll be honest with you, but you have to do the same." She negotiated.

"You have yourself a deal then Rosie Potter."

He lowered the axe again, holding it out to her. Grimmauld place was in the city, not a village, so Siri they had to walk a lot longer to find a forest, because it was impractical to apparate with a tree and Rose as a side along. While they walked, they made use of their bargain.

"So, tell me darling, what is one thing you keep meaning to do, but never get around to doing?"

She thought for a moment and then smiled. "I've been meaning to ask Moony if he has a picture of my dad in his animagus form."

Sirius grinned. "You want to see Prongs?"

"Of course, I do."

"Well, if Remus doesn't have a picture, I'll show you a memory. How 'bout that?"

"That'd be really nice. I'd love to see a memory of dad when he wasn't being a horrible bully."

"Yeah…" Siri cringed.

"You know, I knew that you guys were awful to Severus… but that day I was already really emotional about dad, and it was like a kick in the teeth, like the universe mocking me for crying about him earlier."

"What were you so emotional about? I didn't even know you cried over him."

"Erm, well I found something that was his, yours too actually, and it just overwhelmed me."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow inquisitively.

"It was your map. The twins had it, and they gave it to me when they found out it'd belonged to you guys."

His eyes widened and his face split into a grin. "You have the map? Bloody hell, James'd be thrilled!"

"It's pretty cool. The twins were using it to spy on Ginny and Dean, but I haven't really needed it yet."

"Trust me, you will." He waggled his eyebrows. "All those late-night broom closet encounters of yours."

"Hey! I'm not that bad, honest. Plus, I'm not gonna do anything with Draco anymore."

"Right."

"No, I'm serious! I'm not. I felt really bad about the whole Pansy thing, and I don't want to lead him on, because I don't have feelings for him."

"Ok, I believe you love." He raised his hands in defeat. "But if that's true, then I want to know why you slept with him so much in the first place. What was it? You said he's not nice at all, and he doesn't seem like your usual type."

"Hm. And what is my usual type then Sirius Black?" She glowered.

"Er… quidditch players?" He tried.

"Draco's the seeker for Slytherin."

"I mean like… jocks, popular blokes. The guys that everyone likes. With the hair tussles and the charisma."

"Like James you mean?"

"Well I wasn't gonna say it."

"Yeah, I know. I've just accepted it now."

"So why Malfoy then?"

"That's a different daddy issue Siri."

"What do you mean?"

"James isn't my only father figure." She sighed, fiddling with her hair and looking away.

"Oh _. Oh._ Rose, ew. Snape? Really?"

Rosie shrugged. It's not like it's him I wanna sleep with. I just feel protected and safe when I'm with guys that remind me of dad, and Severus. I'm sure I'd feel the same if I met another bookish werewolf."

"I guess that makes sense. Maybe it's not as creepy as I thought it was. I get that you'd want to feel protected after…nevermind."

"It's ok to talk about it y'know Siri. The mere mention of Lockhart isn't going to make me fall apart, and yeah, I reckon that he's probably one of the reasons why."

He grimaced. "I'm sorry love. I just really hate to think of that happening to you and I don't want to remind you or make you upset…"

"You won't. Just relax." She smiled, rubbing his arm as they turned onto a side street.

"Precious, how far away did you say the nearest forest was from here?"

"Me? Are you joking? I thought you were leading us!"

"Rosie what?"

"This is your bloody neighborhood! You grew up here!"

"You think my mother let me come into muggle London?"

"Siri!" She shrieked, shoving him playfully. "We've just been walking aimlessly for almost forty minutes! I don't think we're gonna find a forest!"

"Well, we need to get a tree or Remus'll be disappointed in us." He frowned, crossing his arms.

"Then we'll need to find a nursery." Rosie huffed.

"What do baby muggles have anything to do with this?"

"No darling, a tree nursery." She teased, ruffling his hair.

"You're such a little…" He trailed off, his eyes narrowing as he followed her through the streets of Islington.

They found a muggle man selling Christmas trees out of the back of a truck for the outrageous price of three hundred pounds apiece, which Rosie had tried to argue was way too much, but Siri didn't even blink. He handed the muggle money to her for counting without a word and had stopped her from trying to barter with the salesman.

"Sirius Black, that was an utterly ridiculous price to pay for a tree. You should've let me talk him down."

"Rosie, love, it doesn't matter, ok? Maybe he needs the money."

"Or maybe he's a damn scam artist!" She hissed.

"Hey." He put a hand on her arm. "It's not a big deal. C'mon, help me lift this thing."

Sirius' casual frivolity around money made her wonder just exactly how large the Black family fortune was. She knew that her parents, in particular her dad had inherited and passed down to her enough money to sustain herself for the rest of her life, and she also knew that her parents hadn't worked before they died. Instead, they'd dedicated themselves fully to the service of the order before going into hiding.

Still, Rose had come from more modest roots and it felt wrong to spend so much money on something that would've been free had they made it to a forest. It wasn't as though the Dursleys had been a low-income family, but they did not spend money on anything unnecessary, aside from their son.

Rosie understood a lot better why Moony seemed so adverse to having his things paid for by others. She imagined that growing up with Sirius Black and James Potter as his best friends didn't do much for the ego. Still, it wasn't money that made Christmas a priceless experience for Rose.

Arthur Weasley came home to Grimmauld place on Christmas eve. He looked, rough.

Molly flitted around him all day, and Ginny and Rosie stepped in to help Moony make dinner. Even Sirius offered to help with simple tasks like mashing potatoes and grating cheese.

That night, when all the work was done, Rosie snuck Charlie into her bedroom with some spiked eggnog for a chat. She was giggly from the drink, and the older Weasley boy seemed to take great amusement from her silly attitude.

"You know Rose, I got in a whole ton of shit the last time you snuck me up here." He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah yeah. That's because your siblings are like my siblings. You know I lived at the burrow for a whole summer once."

"Yup… Dad told me that." He cringed.

"Oh relax. Remus is cool with it. He's my guardian, so it's fine."

"Fifteen eh?"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it the last time." Rosie snickered.

"Well I didn't know…" He started to explain, but she cut him off, leaning forward to press her lips against his.

"Mhm." The boy groaned, catching her and moving his hand down until it was resting on her lower back.

"Christ Potter, you're hard to say no to."

"So, don't say no." She groaned, pulling him back onto the bed.

On Christmas morning, Remus woke up early. He liked to put presents under the tree before Rosie got up. Passing by his goddaughter's room, he noticed that the door was ajar. He frowned and stuck his head into the room.

His first instinct was to turn away. His sweet little Rosie was less than appropriately dressed, and beside her in the bed was a naked man…namely, Charlie Weasley. It was one thing to be aware of her activity, and another to actually see it.

Remus was going to close the door and attempt to scrub the memory from his mind, but instead he paused, remembering Severus. The dour man usually appeared early on Christmas morning so that he was there when Rosie awoke. The werewolf was positive that he would be utterly appalled were he to encounter Rose like this, and Remus couldn't risk making Christmas an awkward experience.

So, though it made him incredibly uncomfortable, he stepped into the room, using magic to tuck the large blanket tighter around the Weasley boy and crept over to Rosie's side of the bed.

"Princess." He prodded her awake gently. "Darling, you need to wake up."

Rose squirmed in her bed, stretching her arms up and opening her eyes. "Morning Moony." She smiled softly. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas." He smiled back, and then frowned. "Sweetheart. I don't think you're going to want Severus to find you like this."

"What?" Rosie asked groggily, trying to sit up. Her eyes widened when she realized that there was someone else in her bed.

"Oh god. Moony, I'm so sorry." His goddaughter blushed, biting her lip and pulling the blanket up to cover herself.

Remus closed his eyes and sighed.

"Oh Moony, please don't be cross." She pleaded softly.

"I'm not cross Rose." He assured her. "I just thought you might like a heads up is all."

"I'll be down in a minute?" Rosie looked up at him, still gnawing on her lip.

He squeezed her shoulder and nodded. "I'll start breakfast."

Leaving Rose to sort out her business, he made his way over to the door and smiled as he heard her shove Charlie.

"Get up you great git. I can't believe you fell asleep in here." She growled.

It would've been cute if it had been anyone but his child. Though it seemed as if Rosie knew how to handle the older boy. Still, Remus resolved to serve the second oldest Weasley boy a lukewarm breakfast that morning.


	103. Chapter 103

**AN- Alright, here we go guys. Updates are happening, just really slow. I'm so excited to do the end of fifth year though, so I think they'll start to speed up again. Also just so that we're clear, around the Sirius-falling-through-the-bloody-veil part is where we stop following canon so closely in this story.**

Christmas morning was hectic, and Rosie found herself reflecting on Christmases past, where even the addition of Sirius had felt a bit like overcrowding. Arthur Weasley kept shooting her concerned glances and Severus, who caught onto this, had turned from tolerant to sour pretty quickly once he realized.

Sirius was also in a bad mood because she'd neglected a silencing charm the night before, and he, in his infinite Black wisdom had not thought to cast one himself, which meant that he'd gotten an earful of her late-night activities.

Moony however, was as cheerful and pleasant as always. Holidays really were his favorite time of the year. He seemed to get a real kick out of buying things for her, and Rosie ended up with an impressive new collection of sweets, along with several items of clothing, and quidditch related paraphernalia. Sometimes she suspected that her godfather only kept up a job so that he could buy her presents.

Kingsley came over midmorning to drop off gifts for she and Moony, which was sweet, and he stayed for a while to chat with Severus and indulge in some of her godfather's cooking.

The handsome auror was just about to leave, to rejoin his own family Christmas celebration when the real drama began. Severus raised an eyebrow at Rose as she approached leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Thanks for coming." She smiled. "I know you hate it."

"As I have said in the past, your contentedness is more important than my own."

"Yeah well, thanks."

He hummed noncommittally at her and Kingsley looked to him with curiosity. "You're not a Christmas fan, Severus?"

"Severus doesn't like Sirius and he barely tolerates Remus." She informed Kingsley. "They didn't get on in school."

"Pfft. It's difficult to 'get on' with Minerva. It is nearly impossible to co-parent with a wolf and the white sheep of the Black family."

Her chest constricted in panic. "Severus!" She hissed, glancing nervously back at Moony.

"Wolf?" Kinglsey squinted at her.

"Severus is just being crude." Rosie glared, resisting the urge to hit her guardian on the shoulder.

The potions master didn't even have the good sense to appear chagrined.

Kingsley's face changed from confusion to understanding in mere seconds.

"You're not really afraid of werewolves are you Rose?" He asked, eyes widening as he turned to glance at Moony.

"Fuck." She cursed, shooting Severus a death stare.

"Kingsley…" Rosie began, biting her lip.

"I think I should go." The auror announced, his voice taking on a hardened tone.

"Kinglsey wait, just stay, we can talk about it."

"I… I have to go." He insisted, turning away towards the fireplace. Moony, unaware of the commotion carried on animatedly with Arthur across the room.

"Severus I can't believe you did that!" She nearly shrieked, balling her hands into fists.

The potions master rubbed his temple. "I was not aware…"

"Urgh! Whatever. You always spoil everything!"

Rosie, in a panic, looked for Sirius, who was staring moodily at Charlie from across the kitchen. Ditching her guardian, she hurried over to him, her eyes wide and her stomach in knots.

"Alright Baby Prongs?" He asked, turning his face toward her and winking, a smile tugging at his lips.

"No! Oh Sirius, something terrible just happened. You've got to help me!" She whispered urgently, her voice breathy and nervous.

Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. "What is it?" He prodded, scanning the room with his eyes over her head.

"Severus just mentioned the wolf thing in front of Kingsley." She revealed, bracing herself for a backlash.

His grip tightened on her arm. "Of course, he fucking did. Piece of shit…" He growled softly, staring towards the potions master, who, noticing this, sighed and moved into the kitchen.

For once, Rosie said nothing.

"Did Kingsley leave?" Siri asked tightly.

She nodded, biting her lip and glancing over at Moony again.

"Alright, leave it to me love. I'll talk to Remus."

"I'll come." Rose insisted, frowning.

"No, Rosie. He won't want you messed up in this, trust me. Don't worry, I'll break it to 'im. You go hang out with your friends."

She felt sick as she watched Sirius come up behind Moony and grab onto his elbow, steering the puzzled man out of the sitting room. In that moment, she could've killed Severus. It didn't help that she wasn't sure whether it had been intentional.

Rosie thought back to his purposefully suggestive lecture on werewolves in third year and cringed.

She needed to make this right.

Approaching cautiously, Rosie stuck her head into the circle of conversation, right in between Bill and Charlie Weasley.

"Rose." Bill smiled, turning to raise an eyebrow at his younger brother.

"Hey Rosie, what's up?" Charlie grinned.

"I need you take me somewhere, discreetly." Rose whispered, eying the crowd of Weasleys behind them.

Bill's eyes widened and he clapped his hand over his mouth, gaping at her.

Rosie realized her error in wording too late and winced. "No, urgh. Not for that… it's something else. I need you to like apparate me somewhere."

Charlie's face relaxed a bit as he glanced nervously over at his brother.

"Oh yes, that makes more sense, because she's Ginny's age, and can't apparate alone." Bill pursed his lips, glaring pointedly at the other boy.

Charlie closed his eyes and sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her along with him towards the door.

"I don't think any of us are supposed to let you out of our sight." He smirked, ducking his head, thoroughly chagrined, but amused in the same breath.

"So, go with me, it's important. Please. I need you to take me to find Kingsley."

"Wasn't he like just here?" He turned back to peer into the sitting room.

"He left, and I need to talk to him." Rosie reaffirmed, crossing her arms.

"Alright alright, don't get your knickers in a twist, but if Snape kills me, it's on you."

"He's off sulking. If he really cared he'd take me."

Charlie shook his head and chuckled, slipping them out the door and grasping her elbow tightly. "We'll try his house first."

A kind, smiling woman who appeared to be the auror's sister answered the door, a small child peeking out from behind her.

"Hi. I need to talk to Kingsley." Rose got right to the point.

The woman's face furrowed in confusion. "He's gone upstairs." She informed them. Can I help you?"

"Can you tell him Rose Potter is here and isn't leaving until he comes down to talk?"

"I'm sorry but…" The woman started, but Rosie pushed past her into the house.

"Rose! You can't just…!" Charlie was shouting behind her, but she didn't listen, finding the stairs and climbing them without hesitation.

Kingsley was in the first room to the left, door open, and head in his hands. He sat up when she appeared at the door frame.

"Rose? How…?"

"Kingsley. Don't you dare break Remus' heart because of this." She began, crossing her arms.

Charlie, the woman, and the child had followed her upstairs and were watching from the landing.

The man stood up and approached her. "Rose, I understand that you have a great affection for your godfather, but this is something in between him and I. You need to stay out of it."

"I can't do that." She shot back. "I can't, because I know how happy you make him, and I know that he would never ever hurt me, or you, or anybody. He isn't dangerous, or beastly. He's just Remus."

"It's not what he is or isn't Rose. It's the fact that we've been seeing each other for over six months and he's never thought to mention it!"

"Kingsley, she's just a girl. Don't lose your temper." The sister chided from behind.

"You're right. I apologize. Rose, you should go." The auror held up a hand, signaling the end of the conversation.

"Please. Just listen. That's all I'm asking." She begged.

He closed his eyes and exhaled. Rosie took this as her cue to begin speaking.

"Please, Kingsley. Remus and I have enough in common that I feel like I can explain to you why he didn't say anything if you'll let me."

Silence.

"I understand what it feels like to be so ashamed and so disgusted by a part of yourself that you just can't bear to share it with anyone. God, I was exposed in front of the whole wizarding world in my shame. Everyone I met knew what had happened to me, and none of that hurt as badly as it hurt when the people I loved found out."

Kingsley frowned and shook his head. "Rose, I get that, but there are levels of honesty in relationships that…"

"He didn't lie to you to be cruel! He lied because he hates himself so desperately, and he just couldn't handle seeing you hate him too. Remus is the most honorable man I know, but he's also the most thick, self-deprecating git on the planet. He's terrified of losing you to his condition, because it's happened before, all his life."

"I…" The auror seemed to be unable to speak.

"Please, just don't give up on him because of this Kingsley. Give him another chance, and I swear I'll stop being possessive and silly. He's really happy with you, and I just want to see him happy, and this is really all I had planned to say, so just please come back to the house." She finished, stepping back awkwardly.

"I'll go now." Rosie added, turning on her heels and nearly bowling Charlie over in her haste to get down the stairs and to the door.

"Godric Rose, that was some speech. Remind me not to piss you off." He laughed, wrapping an arm around her and spinning them.

Grimmauld place was in chaos when they returned.

The moment that they walked through the door Sirius lunged forward and grabbed Charlie by the collar of his shirt, pushing him up against the wall.

"Don't you ever take her out like that again." He spat. "Do you have any idea how many people want that girl dead?"

"Sirius Black! Unhand my son!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"Mum, he bloody well deserves it." Fred growled from beside her.

"I would like you to let Charlie go so we can talk about this like adults." The woman ordered, hands on her hips.

"Oh, you'd like that would you?" Sirius shoved the boy away from him. "I'd like to have slept last night but no. Instead, I had to listen to your adult son shag my teenage goddaughter all damn night!"

Molly took a step back, a hand groping at her chest in distress.

"Sirius, that's enough out of you!" Her godfather interjected angrily.

"Moony…" She began, but he held up a hand to silence her. "Rose. I'd like it if you would please go with Severus for the time being. Please, just go."

She could see how miserable he looked, but that didn't stop his words from lancing through her heart like a hot needle. Tears formed in her eyes and she crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

The potions master chose that moment to intervene, stepping forward to guide her away from the hoard and toward the fireplace. The trip was a blur, and then suddenly she was in Severus' living room.

Now in the comfort of a familiar space one again, the tears began to fall.

Severus, however, was not in the mood.

"Rose Lily Potter, your level of stupidity nearly always exceeds my expectations." He hissed.

She let out a little cry of indignation.

"Tell me child. What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to protect you and keep you alive while you continue to behave like a selfish, ungrateful, childish brat?"

"I'm sorry!"

"You don't know the meaning of the word." He spat. "Do you have any idea how important you are, not only to myself and to your godfather, but to the wizarding world as a whole? Do you have any concept of the catastrophe that your death or injury could create?"

"I don't want any of it Severus! I never asked for any of this!"

"Enough Rose. This victim mindset dilutes your potential. By not accepting an ounce of responsibility for your circumstances you greatly reduce your power to change them. It's time to grow up, because like it or not, in a much shorter time than you realize, you will come face to face with the Dark Lord, and he will not care that you are scared, angry, and hurt. He will kill you without a second thought, so you need to be ready, and you need to behave like an intelligent human being. Do you understand?"

Her mouth fell open in shock. Severus had never spoken this way to her before. The only thing that Rosie could do was nod.

"I'll do better." She choked. "I promise, I'll do better."

"I will keep you safe Rose _, always,_ but I can only do that if I have your cooperation."

Rosie stayed with Severus for the remainder of the winter holidays. Though, Moony had come by two days after Christmas to speak with her.

"Rose, my sweet girl. I am so very sorry for sending you away like that on Christmas. It was absolutely inexcusable. I was upset, and I displaced my mood onto you. I hope you can forgive me." He looked at her with pleading amber eyes.

"Moony I… of course. Severus made me see that what I did was so stupid. I should never have left like that, especially with Charlie, I was just so upset for you… I panicked."

"Darling, yes, it was very dangerous what you did, but just this once I'll excuse it. Kingsley told me what you said to him."

"He came back?" She smiled.

"He did."

"Oh Moony, I'm so happy for you." Rosie gushed, allowing herself to be swallowed into his embrace.

"I'm so grateful to have such a kind, caring, and compassionate daughter. I'd just like to make sure that she sticks around, yeah?" He nudged her playfully.

It always made her heart swell to hear Moony refer to her as his daughter, and in that moment, she would've jumped off a cliff had he given the order.

"Is Siri still mad?" She questioned, biting her lip.

Moony touched her cheek. "He never stays cross with you sweetheart. It's not in his skill set."

She'd decided to stay with Severus, one, because he'd offered, and two, because she knew that she'd get to see Moony and Sirius for lessons anyways once the break was over.

The last day before term was to resume, Rose had been rummaging through Severus' books, trying to find one that wasn't mind-numbingly dull. Her guardian was in his lab, and she hadn't seen him for hours. The book was in the wrong section, which had immediately caught her attention.

It was a copy of the OWL level charms textbook, stuffed in between _Moste Potente Potions_ , and _The Advanced Art of Flash Boiling_. She flipped through the book quickly as she looked for it's place on the shelf, but before she found the spot, something caught her eye.

It was the unmistakable spidery writing that she'd seen so often on her potion's essays, Severus', but it was combined with another unfamiliar scrawl.

The handwriting was faded, but she could tell that it was much loopier than the potions master's. There were two pages in which the text had been erased, only to replaced by these hastily crafted notes. The more she read, the wider her eyes became.

 _Sev, I don't know why you write so many notes. It's not like you need them, can't we play hangman or something?_

 _Just because you're a natural at charms doesn't mean we all are Lily, now pay attention._

 _Oh Severus, please._

There were several completed games of hangman drawn beneath the first part of the text. Rosie realized quickly that this was her mother and Severus writing notes in class, when they were her age. On the next page they continued.

 _That's enough, I want to catch this part about the modified confundus._

 _I'll teach it to you later. Meet me in the drawing room up by the statue of Verita the Vicious._

 _I'd prefer we stick to our previous engagement this evening._

 _You underestimate me Sev. You don't think I can teach and shag you at the same time?_

 _My apologies Professor Evans._

Rosie couldn't decide whether to cry, giggle, or sick up.

This was her mother's writing. Her mother's actual, true, handwriting in a book that she had actually touched, and that made her chest tight and her insides all warm and fuzzy. On the other hand, she and Severus were most definitely talking about having sex.

This meant that Severus had lied to her.

She thumbed through the pages looking for anymore notes but she didn't find anything. Rose had always suspected this, but her guardian had so vehemently denied any accusation of romantic involvement with her mother it had almost been convincing.

Standing up, Rosie made her way over to Severus' lab and opened the door without knocking, placing the book behind her back.

"Yes?" The dour man raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, liar liar pants on fire." She glared, a smirk playing on her lips.

"What did you just refer to me as?"

"Well…about half an hour ago I would have referred to you as someone who'd never had sex with my mother but now, I'm not so sure." Rosie couldn't help herself, she burst into a fit of girlish giggles.

Severus' eyebrows were raised so high that she thought they might fly off his head. "I'm sorry?"

She pulled the book out from behind her back. "Thought I'd catch up in charms, but _Professor Evans_ was a bit busy." Rose choked, her laughter now the only sound filling the space.

His eyes widened and she swore that his cheeks had colored just slightly. "Rose. It was not my intention to keep you in the dark about such matters…" He started awkwardly, but Rosie interrupted him.

"Your mother was not my lover." She mocked, doing an impression of his drawl.

"It isn't relevant child. It was an irregular tryst, and it ended nearly as soon as it began. Think nothing of it, I beg of you."

"This is like if I were raising Draco Malfoy's kid and just conveniently didn't mention that he used to shag my brains out under the snake portrait in the Slytherin boys' dorm."

"Rose Lily. That is an appalling comparison."

"Hm, is it now?" She smirked. "Alright, well, I'm keeping this." Rosie informed him. "The not sex part I mean." Folding the page over so that it could be torn out.

He glared at her. "I will allow you to defile my book under the condition that this subject is never raised between you and I again."

"Don't worry Severus, I'll leave you the sexy part." She stuck her tongue out, "and I'll try not to think too hard about my mummy and daddy being with other people."

Severus sneered at her teasing and turned back to his potion, the color in his face never fading.


	104. Chapter 104

Rosie was beginning to think that everyone was keeping secrets from her. In her first lesson back at Hogwarts with Sirius, she confronted him.

"Sirius, did you know that Severus had sex with my mother?" Rose brought up off handedly.

Her ex-godfather choked, and his eyes widened. "Rose. Fuck. Why would you ask that?"

"You did know!" She shrieked, lunged forward and pushing his chest in annoyance.

"Of course, I knew! James told me. Freaked 'im right out."

"What did he say?" Rosie pressed, grasping onto the opportunity to learn more about her parents' relationship.

Sirius' face was still set in discomfort. "How did you find out?" He wrinkled his nose.

"I found some of their messages to each other at Severus' house."

"Course the slimy git wouldn't throw that shit out, probably the only time he's ever…"

"Siri! How did my dad react?"

He shook his head and ran a hand over his face. "I don't know. He was grossed out Rose, but Lily could've like slept with a professor or something and he wouldn't've cared."

Rosie flinched.

"What? _Oh_. Oh Rose. No, I didn't mean…" He trailed off approaching her as she looked away.

"Rosie precious. I didn't mean to say that."

"I get it. Sleeping with professors is gross."

"You didn't sleep with your professor kid." Sirius moaned, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Pretty sure I did." She bit her lip. "It doesn't matter Siri, just keep telling me about dad."

"Rose…" He whined but gave in with a sigh when she refused to continue. "I was saying that when you love someone, it ends up not mattering who they've been with in the past, no matter how gross. That's how it was for James anyways."

"So, he loved her enough that sleeping with his worst enemy didn't make him love her less?"

"There wasn't anything that Lily could do that would make James quit on her." His eyes were sincere.

"Have you ever been in love Sirius?" She questioned then, curious but tentative.

He winced. "Nope, not really my style."

"Relatable."

Sirius chuckled then. "What stopped you from loving Diggory? You were with him for ages."

"I did love him. I just wasn't in love with him. It might've had something to do with the cheating on me thing." Now it was her who cringed.

"You cheated on him first." Siri stated plainly.

"Hey! I thought you were on my side!"

"I am! I'm just saying, there must've been a reason you did that. I can't believe that your weird Snape thing was so insatiable that you couldn't stop yourself."

She squirmed in discomfort. Rosie didn't like to get this deep. She preferred to just chalk it up to her inherent evilness.

"I guess I just couldn't really open up to him as much as I needed, and with Draco I could. I mean, Ced had the dead parents thing covered, but he just wouldn't've understood some of the darker stuff."

"And Malfoy did?"

"Yeah, I mean… he just got it, the dark humor, and like… you know when you're just so messed up, or upset that it's funny?"

He frowned and stroked her cheek. "I was laughing my ass off when they arrested me."

She smirked. "Like that. I couldn't do that with Ced."

"I get it." Sirius nodded in acknowledgment.

"I know you do. You and Malfoy are the only ones who seem to."

He quirked his lips into a small smile. "Well, if you ever need to get some of that stuff out without sleeping with Malfoy you can talk to me."

"I'm not sleeping with him anymore." She crossed her arms moodily.

"So, you'll be talking to me a lot then?" He teased, exhaling a laugh. "That reminds me. Since you decided to act like an idiot on Christmas, I never got to give you your last gift."

Sirius reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a thin rectangular package.

Glaring at him playfully, Rosie took it and began to pull at the paper. She unwrapped the package to reveal a thin hand mirror and cocked her brow curiously.

"A mirror? Is this a hint? Are you saying I need to work on my appearance?"

"Brat. You know that's not true." He poked her side. "It's a two-way mirror. I have the other one. Your dad and I used to use them. Now, if you ever need to talk… to me or Remus, just say my name into the mirror and I'll hear you."

"Like a telephone?" She grinned excitedly.

"Er, yes?"

"It's brilliant! Thanks Siri!" Rosie beamed, jumping up into his arms and allowing him to twirl her around.

"Alright kid, enough slacking. Go over there and shoot some curse at me." He shoved her lightly away and backed up, drawing his wand.

When Rose had promised Severus she'd start taking her safety more seriously, she'd meant it. Christmas had been a bit of a wake-up call. She hadn't been hurt, but Sirius' and especially Moony's anger had been undeniable. That coupled with the dressing down that the potion's master had given her made Rosie take a long look at her priorities.

She'd poured her heart out into the first lesson of the defense club. Hermione had found some disappearing room to hold the meetings in, and by the time the first one rolled around, she had it decorated and ready for use.

Enlarged pictures of Lily and James hung on the bulletin board next to a photo of the original Order of the Phoenix that Sirius had given to her.

The group was very diverse. Colin Creevey and his brother Dennis were the youngest members, and Meadow seemed to be the oldest. The blonde girl came to the meeting and stood near the back, not offering any input in the naming of the group, but she seemed to be paying attention.

They'd decided to call it Dumbledore's Army, or DA for short, and as requested, a few people brought along pictures to add to the bulletin.

Neville pinned up a picture of his parents together, and Ginny brought one of her uncles, Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw had a photo of her mother, and Rosie put up an extra large one of Cedric and a smaller one of his mother and Amos off to the side.

The group started off by practicing the basic disarming spell, because many of them had learned it in second year and then, due to a lack of dueling practice, had forgotten, or had never perfected their technique.

Gone were the days that Rose had trouble casting spells. Sirius had been adamant that she become a bolder duelist, and so she did. It was with ease that she taught the younger students to block the spells of the older ones, and soothed Ron as he was disarmed by Hermione four times in a row.

Ginny was a surprise to everyone. She had fearlessly taken on Fred and seemed to be holding her own with minimal effort. Rosie hadn't realized just how much energy her best friend had thrown into learning to protect herself.

Every time that Rosie glanced over at Meadow her stomach churned with anxiety. It was so uncomfortable that it made her want to go over and take Cedric's picture down, so, she tried to avoid looking. This meant however, that she neglected Luna, who was the only person available to practice with the head girl.

Everyone from other houses seemed to already have a partner and none of the Weasleys, Dean, or Hermione would practice with her.

It was after the first DA meeting that Draco approached Rose, which was the first time she'd seen him since Pansy had tried to attack her in the hall.

He did not take her rejection of his advances well, calling her several unkind expletives, and upsetting her so greatly that she'd had to go find Severus for a hug afterwards. Obviously, she didn't tell the potions master who had made her so upset.

From that point on, Draco Malfoy began to behave as though he was out to get her. This included joining a task force created by Delores Umbridge known as the Inquisitorial Squad, to enforce her ever expanding rule declarations.

Two meetings into the DA, Professor Umbridge decided that all un-sanctioned student groups would be henceforth disbanded, including quidditch teams, and so apart from the now apparent illicitness of Dumbledore's Army, Wood had to go plead to the professors on behalf of the Gryffindor team.

Up until this point, Rosie had been successfully avoiding any interactions with Professor Umbridge. She'd been keeping her ears open for any word on the use of the blood quill with other students, but if it was happening, nobody was talking.

Even Dean, who'd served several detentions with her that year so far hadn't shown any signs of the torture device and had flat out denied it when Rose had asked.

While initially, the quidditch team had been reinstated after some not-so-gentle prodding from Professor McGonagall, the return to normalcy did not last.

Rose had beaten Malfoy to the snitch fair and square. There had been no question of foul play, and Gryffindor had won. However, it appeared that Malfoy would miss no opportunity to hurt her. Coincidentally, he'd started coming around her flanked by Crabbe and Goyle once again, whereas before, he'd instructed them to stay away.

"Potter!" She'd heard from across the pitch, and immediately, Rosie moved to George's side. He motioned for Fred to come over too and they became her Crabbe and Goyle, only much more handsome.

"What is it Malfoy?"

"Hm. Twins." He raised an eyebrow. "That your type then? Not satisfied with just one?"

Rosie scoffed and ignored the taunt.

"Sod off Malfoy." George put out.

"Aw, isn't it cute how they protect you. That's your type, eh daddy issues?" He smirked, pulling a mocking face.

"If you think you're gonna get a rise out of me for that you're wrong you git." She glared.

"Mm. That doesn't make you feel vulnerable enough. How bout Ced-e-ric?" Malfoy smirked, emphasizing the name.

"Enough Malfoy. C'mon Rose, let's go." Fred tried to pull her by the arm, to steer her away.

"Did she tell you? Weasel! Did she tell you she used to sneak around and fuck me behind Diggory's back?"

Rosie cringed and George lunged forward. Fred tried to hold him back but not before his twin took a swing.

"Miss Potter! Mr. Weasley!" Professor Umbridge called in her high pitched, sweet voice.

Rosie turned wildly and made eye contact with Severus who closed his eyes in apparent exhaustion, moving over to speak with Malfoy.

She was led away by the defense professor behind Fred, George's hand on her back and his face set it anger.

"George…" She whispered through the tension.

"Not now Rosie." He hissed back.

When they'd arrived at the defense office, one of Rose's least favorite offices in the school, they were quickly followed by Professor McGonagall and finally Severus with Malfoy.

"Hem hem. Might we call this meeting to order?" Umbridge simpered and Rosie resisted the urge to move towards the potions master for comfort.

"Delores, I encourage you to see that both parties behaved with a high degree of impropriety…" McGonagall started.

"And you see now, don't you, Minerva, how right I was in attempting to stop the Gryffindor team re-forming? Dreadful tempers ... So, I really think I will have to ban these three from playing Quidditch ever again."

"Three? I count four students." The professor interjected.

"Minerva. I do believe you've misunderstood. I highly doubt that Mr. Malfoy was involved in such an insult to the school's decorum. He is part of my Inquisitorial Squad."

"Insult to decorum!" McGonagall nearly choked.

"A lifetime suspension from quidditch should do the trick, for Miss Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley." She grinned widely.

The twins glanced at each other. They seemed to be communicating silently. Rosie just sighed. There was always something.

"Is that all?" Severus asked, eying the door. Of course, the potions master wouldn't want to be trapped inside the stiflingly pink office for longer than necessary.

"Not quite." Umbridge smiled. "I would like to see Miss. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley in my office for one week's detention."

Severus stiffened. She saw it.

As it happens, I have a clear schedule for detentions myself this week. Surely you'd like a break Delores." The transfiguration professor suggested.

"Minerva, my dear woman. I thank you ever so much for your concern, but I am more than capable of following through with my own punishments."

"Merely a suggestion to ease your workload." McGonagall spat, with clenched teeth.

"I trust that any and all punishment doled out at the time of detention will comply with school safety regulations." Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Naturally." She giggled.

Fred and George had been downcast leaving the meeting but had reassured her that it had been their fault for responding to the taunts. Still, they left to lick their wounds, and Rose stalked after Severus who, expecting her, was waiting a few corridors away.

"Severus. I swear I didn't do anything to him. Malfoy's mad because I won't sleep with him anymore and he was baiting me, and George reacted…I…"

"Hush child."

"I'm trying to be better I promise."

"I know. I am impressed with your restraint, and I apologize that I couldn't do more to save your spot on the quidditch team."

She shrugged. "I don't get to play a lot anyways. Something always comes up."

"If Delores Umbridge uses a blood quill on you again, you will inform me, immediately. Do you understand?"

"Moony told you." Rosie glared.

"It was not your wolf."

"Stop calling him that. I can't believe you said that in front of Kingsley. I've nearly eradicated that stupid nickname that Sirius calls you so you should show some gratitude and…"

"Enough." He held up a hand. "As I said. Do not attempt to conceal from me any incidence of blood quill usage. You will not be withdrawn from school. I'll see to it."

She crossed her arms. "Fine. I'll tell you, but keep Malfoy away from me. If he doesn't leave me alone, I'll write to his father and say he got me pregnant or something."

Her guardian's face twisted in horror. "You'll do no such thing. I forbid you from any contact whatsoever with Lucius Malfoy."

"Does he suspect, about you and me I mean? I did waltz into your house like I owned the place, summer before fourth year…remember?"

"No. I passed it off as some extra instruction at the request of the headmaster."

"You tell things to the Dark Lord about me though. I remember. You told him that I'm weak when it comes to Sirius and Moony, and that I don't have a new boyfriend."

"Indeed. I would be an ineffective spy were I to provide zero information on you. You'll notice however, that nothing I tell him is of consequence. For example, I withhold your complete and utter disregard for your own life in almost every circumstance. It is much more difficult for the Dark Lord to plan an attack on Black or Lupin, than it would be for him to kidnap one of your classmates to lure you out, even though the effect would be identical."

She frowned. "That must be really hard, knowing that one wrong move could get you killed, or me I guess."

He winced. "Thank you for the reminder."

"Sorry. I just sometimes don't tell you how much I appreciate you." Rosie looked up at him.

Severus nodded in acceptance of the praise. "Go up to your common room child, you have a long week ahead of you."

Delores Umbridge had been named Hogwarts High Inquisitor by the time the sun had come up the next morning. It was noted on the wall along with all her other decrees.

Coincidentally, that very same morning, new spread of a mass death eater breakout from Azkaban, just as Severus had said would happen. The Lestranges were among the newly freed prisoners.

Sirius had called her on the mirror, not because he was worried for her safety, but because he was upset, and brooding about Azkaban again. He'd begun to do this recently with her. It seemed that he felt comfortable enough to allow her into his silent misery every once in a while.

That evening in the DA meeting, Rosie put a clipping of the prophet up on the bulletin, and a few members of the group shared some stories about specific death eaters. She had to duck out early for detention though, so Rose missed the end part.

The twins had been in detention over lunch period with Umbridge, and both were keeping their hands hidden from view during the meeting. She made a mental note to alert Severus to this when she got the chance, or perhaps Kingsley. Rosie couldn't really decide if she trusted Severus not to do anything rash, especially since he'd promised her that she wouldn't be pulled from school.

Truthfully, Rose didn't think that the Professor Umbridge could come up with a worse detention than the blood quill, but she was wrong. The detention that she was subjected to was tailored for her, and it was much much worse. By the time it was over, she felt that an hour of cutting into her own skin would be a treat in comparison.

Rosie walked into the office expecting to be surrounded by pink walls, and mewling kitten plates as was typical of Umbridge, but instead, it appeared as though she'd fancied a redecoration. In fact, the office was eerily familiar.

The plates had been removed, and the walls were regular colored again. A black sofa and a small table sat off to the side, along with a wooden desk and a large coat rack.

This was the office that had belonged to Moony, but also to Lockhart before him.

"Er, hello." Rose greeted uncomfortably, peering around the room.

"Hello Miss. Potter." She was straining under the width of her smile. "Would you please lie down on the sofa?"

Alarm bells began to ring in her head. This was very weird.

"You want me to lay on the couch?"

"Yes dear."

Rosie did as she was told, her body tensing as she moved into a horizontal seated position on the sofa. It took some effort to keep her mind in the present as intrusive thoughts prodded the boundaries of her mind.

"Now. I have so missed your presence in my class this year my dear. I thought, that perhaps we could do a little catch up reading together. How does that sound?"

She had a really bad feeling about this but nodded anyways. It was apparent that there was no choice in the matter.

The words that followed this agreement turned her blood cold and set her heart pumping wildly in her chest.

"Gadding with Ghouls, by Gilderoy Lockhart." Umbridge read aloud.

Rosie understood now exactly what her punishment was.

She was going to listen to his words, on this couch, in this office, and everything was going to come rushing back. Rose doubted that even Severus' occlumency shields could keep this from happening.

Professor Umbridge really was an awful person.

It took all she had not to curl up into a ball on the couch. She felt sick.

" _I'm not a remarkable wizard, but my charm is unparalleled. I knew that even a ghoul wouldn't be able to resist…"_

She continued reading, and Rosie remembered vividly both the false memories of Lockhart reading exerts from his books to her, and then she remembered what he was actually doing.

By the end of the hour, Rose was almost suffocating under his phantom weight.

The clock had struck marking the end of the detention, and she was up so fast that Umbridge only had time to call out,

"I'm sure we can continue this tomorrow night."

Before she was out the door. Once at a safe distance from the office, Rosie collapsed, her stomach heaving. Her whole body was shaking, and she wanted her mother, or Moony, or somebody to hold her and hide her.

Severus found her on the floor beneath the tapestry of Bobrick the Bold. His gaze immediately fell to her hands, and he inspected them before pulling her up to his height.

"Tell me what happened child."

She shook her head. "No. I'm okay Severus."

"Rose Lily Potter I do not believe for a second…"

"Just… Just help me occlude for a while. Please? Just help me do that."

"Of course." He replied, pressing his fingers to her temples. "Begin by slowing your breath."


	105. Chapter 105

"I already told you. I don't want to talk about it." Rosie growled, avoiding Severus' eyes.

"Child, your behavior has been more than concerning for nearly three days now. I can only assume that whatever these detentions consist of is the cause."

"Severus, nothing's wrong. They're just detentions, scrubbing floors and stuff."

"Last I checked, scrubbing floors did not lead to lack of appetite, avoidance of social situations, and withdrawal…"

"I can take care of myself!" She nearly shouted, crossing her arms and wincing.

The squeals of several lively rats play fighting in a cage beside her did nothing to reduce her agitation.

"Rose. I understand that, but I am concerned for your wellbeing, and you do tend to withhold critical information from me."

"If you're not going to teach me this stupid spell, I'm gonna go back up to my dorm." Rose threatened then.

Severus' eyes narrowed into thin slits, but he did exhale a sigh of resignation. "Take out your wand." He commanded tersely.

She did as she was told.

"Now, have you been practicing holding hate?"

Rosie shrugged. "I've been trying."

"Good. First, I will demonstrate, and then directly after, you will attempt the curse."

Pursing her lips, Rose stood back as he carefully lifted a rat out of the cage, wrinkling his long nose in disgust. First, Severus immobilized the creature, and its little body froze. Then, he placed it on the ground, and she watched as he pulled all his concentration inward.

With his jaw set, her guardian raised his wand and hissed, "Avada Kedavra!"

Rosie couldn't help but jump as a jet of green light shot toward the rodent, causing its body to wilt and its eyes to still. She let out a little squeak, and her mind left her.

 _Red hair, screaming, her dad, Cedric's body as he flew across the graveyard and landed with a thump off to the side._

"Rose." Severus' was shaking her shoulder, commanding her. "Child focus your attention."

She blinked several times, taking in small gasps of air.

Instead of comforting her, Severus began to goad her. He placed another frozen rat down next to his and kicked the dead one to the side.

"Picture Diggory's body. Remember his laughter. Remember him taunting you, and the Dark Lord's order to you that day. How did Diggory die? Did he fight or did he bluster and sob like a child?"

His grip on her arm was rough and his cruel words brought tears to her eyes. She tried to hold the hate, but her wand hand was shaking.

Severus took her wrist into his hand to steady her and pointed her wand. "Rose. Focus. Remember. Feel. He's taken your parents. He murdered Diggory."

"Stop!" She cried. "Please stop it."

"That's what you said to Lockhart, isn't it? You asked him to stop, begged him, but he ignored you. He did exactly what he wanted with you and then left you to shoulder the burden."

There was almost nothing that Rosie wouldn't do to get Severus to stop hurting her like this.

"I don't want to."

"Do it Rose. You want to hurt them; you know it's true. You want them to suffer and bleed as you did. You want them to die." He spat, the heat of his breath on her ear.

"You know the spell. Use it."

She let out a final cry of indignation before thrusting her wand forward, squeezing her eyes shut, and shouting, "Avada Kedavra!"

A horrible silence descended over them.

Rosie's mouth was caught open in shock, and her body sagged along with the rat's as the spell hit. The green light, the unforgivable curse had come from her wand this time.

Severus caught her and steadied her body back against his. "Well done, Rose." He sighed, rubbing her arm in support.

It was the praise that provoked her tears and cry she did. Her whole body heaved, and she fell forward, wrapping her arms around her stomach, trying desperately to curb the nausea.

Somewhere in the distance, the potion's master's voice soothed her, but the words were lost, drowned out by the persistent buzzing in her ears.

Rose was vaguely aware of a crash, and a loud bang from across the room, but the sounds weren't enough to break her stupor.

They stayed like that for ages, and by the time that Severus was able to coax her out of the daze, it was past curfew. Even still, there was no conversation when he finally convinced her to stand. Instead, he walked her back to the tower in silence.

Standing outside the door, her guardian took her face in his hands and said clearly,

"Go up to your dorm and go straight to bed."

Before stating the password and nodding for her to enter.

Between the traumatic lesson and her remaining detentions, Rosie was having an extremely bad week. Though her relationship with Severus had been strained since he'd gotten her to cast the killing curse, he still waited for her a few corridors down both days after detention to help her occlude.

Severus always got the worst parenting jobs, but he always came through for her.

Most evenings, when Rosie wasn't having a lesson with Moony or Sirius, and she wasn't in occlumency or killing curse lessons, she was planning for the DA. Dumbledore's Army, while definitely a challenge to keep up with on top of everything else, was really helping Rose with her confidence.

Each lesson, she felt more and more like a leader, and it lessoned the anxiety, even just a little with regards to the prophecy. In a roundabout way, the club reassured her that there was at least a wide breadth of magic that she was comfortable using, which in turn served as a basis for anything new that her godfather and Siri were teaching her.

The most distressing thing to occur since Rosie's week of horrific detentions was the apparent firing of Professor Trelawney.

Now, Rose had never taken a divination class, but she knew that Trelawney had been the one responsible for her prophecy, and for that reason, knew her to be a true and proper seer.

Ron had been in divination since third year with her, and had called her a nutter, but it wasn't possible that she wasn't a real seer as Umbridge seemed to suggest.

It had been a heartbreaking sight, the old, eccentric witch balling her eyes out in the courtyard, comforted only by Professor McGonagall. Even the headmaster had made an appearance to reassure Trelawney that even though she was prohibited from teaching, she wouldn't be expelled from the grounds at his school.

This would've been touching to hear, had the mere sight of Professor Dumbledore not provoked a strange and carnal aggression from within her, which resembled closely the hatred that she'd felt for him the night that Mr. Weasley was attacked.

It was more unnerving every time she felt Voldemort prodding at the barriers of her mind, stretching himself through into her consciousness. Of course, she had informed Severus right away, who had not stopped scowling the entire time that she had explained it to him.

He was convinced that she must not be occluding enough.

Rosie thought that it might be frightening for her guardian, especially to think that the Dark Lord might be watching him through her. Truthfully, that scared her too.

She would never forgive herself if Voldemort did something terrible to Severus because of her, even inadvertently.

On top of all Rosie's other worries, she'd been noticing that Fred and George had been acting strange since their suspension from the quidditch team. She often watched the Marauder's map in the evenings and noted that the twins had taken to huddling together in one of the abandoned drawing rooms that she and Ced used to sneak away to. They would stay for hours at a time, and Rose usually fell asleep before she saw them leave.

She'd been too wound up during her lesson on the killing curse to mention their hand hiding to Severus but had done so a couple days later when she noticed them still favoring their other hands.

Sirius was quite consistent with his lessons. He wasn't much of a teacher, usually preferring to just duel with her until they were both tired. Moony however, was very anxious about her OWLs, fretting constantly during their allotted time together, and even quizzing her in other subjects besides defense.

It felt like a lot of pressure, OWL grades on top of the added weight of trying to defeat a Dark Lord. She'd tried to explain to Moony that she wouldn't need any OWLs if she died, but as usual, he had been completely horrified by that suggestion.

The year felt like it was flying by and it wasn't long before it was the twins' birthday, April first. Rosie didn't like to think too much about the passing weeks, because when she did, she realized that with each new month, they inched closer to one year without Cedric.

That was hard to comprehend, because it felt like just yesterday that they were sneaking out to go swimming in the black lake and frolicking around Hogsmeade completely enamored with one and other.

She tried to block out those memories as much as possible, because they usually lead to much worse ones, namely, the way that Cedric's head had lolled to the side as he hit the ground, or her desperate attempt to shield his body from onlookers as they arrived back outside the maze.

Severus' prodding had opened the wound once again, creating a new sense of rawness, a vulnerability that she'd been avoiding before that.

Those types of thoughts were hard to control once she let them in.

George had been pleading with Rosie to teach the DA how to cast a patronus for weeks now, and she had finally decided to give it a go, for their birthday.

Her bat had pranced around the room, showing off for several minutes, before it was joined by Hermione's playful otter.

She was the only one who'd picked the spell up in the first lesson, which was not entirely unexpected but also more than impressive.

After the meeting, Rosie stayed to clean up. She'd been sticking up a picture that Moony gave her of one of Sirius' on-again-off-again ex-girlfriends Marlene McKinnon on the family board, when she felt a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"Moony!" She grinned, looking up at him. "How did you know where to find me?"

They had a lesson.

"I ran into Ginny on my way to the practice room and she said you'd be here. What is all this love?"

"It's just a little defense club that Hermione started."

"Is Hermione teaching?" He smirked.

Rosie blushed and shook her head. "Not really, no."

"Then who…? _Oh._ "

He'd noticed her face change color.

"Princess, that's excellent! I'm so proud of you!" Moony beamed, pulling her into an affectionate hug.

She shrugged. "It's nothing really Moony. Just some basic stuff and a bit of dueling practice."

"You're too modest my love. Only you would take on this on top of all your other responsibilities."

"It's like a little order, for the students to feel like we're working for something." Rose was scanning the board, looking over the pictures already up.

The werewolf paused on the picture of her parents, and then moved to Cedric. When he'd finished looking there, his eyes turned to the one of Marlene that she'd just hung up.

"She was a lot like Sirius." He nodded toward the picture.

"In what way?" Rosie turned to him.

"She never wanted to commit. They always went off and on, then one or both of them would cheat, and they'd just forget about each other for a while. By the time she felt like settling down, it was with someone else. Some guy called McAdams, but Sirius never really did settle…"

She laughed.

Moony was smiling too, but they his lips pursed, and he rocked a little on the balls of his feet.

"Rose, sweetheart, you didn't ask Sirius not to date, did you?"

Her eyes widened. "No Moony. I swear I didn't. I even told him over Christmas that he should think about finding a girlfriend. Why?"

"So, you've never given him the impression that it would upset you, or anything?"

"I already told you no. It's not the same with Siri as it is with you and Severus."

Rosie had crossed her arms and was scowling now. Moony's face softened and he kissed her head.

"I'm sorry for asking. I just think it's so strange that he hasn't even expressed any interest in…nevermind sweet pea. It's not your issue."

"It's not like I could stop him even if I wanted to Moony." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Darling, I don't think you realize how much power you have over that man. He'd probably kiss Severus if you begged him to do it."

"No, he wouldn't!" Rose shrieked, and Moony's eyes crinkled with laughter, but there was an undertone of sincerity.

"I just mean, watch what you say to him, because if he thinks you're unhappy, or he thought you'd be upset he might…"

"Moony! I didn't say or do anything to make him think that I'd be upset if he saw people!"

Indignation swelled in her belly. It felt wrong for him to be accusing her of restricting Sirius like that. Maybe Azkaban had killed his sex drive. Though, if she were honest, she knew that wasn't true. He'd been noticeably more careful around her since the winter break.

Moony nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry Rose. Let's do our lesson shall we? We can stay here if you like…"

After the lesson it was late, and her godfather walked her up to Gryffindor tower. Ginny was waiting up for her, and she was frowning

"Hey. You ok?" Rosie sat down next to her.

"Yeah. I just wanted to stay up to give this to you." She handed a folded-up piece of paper to her and bit her lip.

"What…?"

It was a note, still sealed by a tiny, pink drop of wax. When Rose broke it open, her heart skipped a beat.

 _Dear Miss Potter,_

 _Please come to my office at the lunch hour tomorrow, April 2_ _nd_ _._

 _Sincerely, Delores Umbridge, High Inquisitor_

What had she done this time? Just the thought of spending another hour lying on that couch, listening to those stories made her ill. She hadn't told anyone what'd been happening during her detentions, but it was getting hard to hide her emotional response.

Rosie went up to bed in a trance and the moment she shut her eyes, her mind began to delve into places that it wasn't supposed to be.

She was beginning to think that Voldemort was dumb. There was no way in hell that she would leave Hogwarts to go to the ministry in the middle of the night. It didn't matter what he showed her, and honestly, it was quite annoying to have her sleep disrupted to wander through the same hallways all night.

Rose already knew what was behind the door.

The next morning was spent in a fit of nerves as she waited for the inevitable meeting at lunch. She watched the map during defense and found comfort in the fact that Severus was at his desk, in his office.

Briefly, she considered going down to see him, to confess everything and show up with him to the meeting, but she quickly vetoed that option. He would be mad that she didn't tell him right away.

It was a relief when she entered Umbridge's office at noon that day to find that the walls were pink, and the kitten plates had been restored to their regular spots.

"Miss Potter. How lovely to see you. Do sit down." She smiled, motioning towards the chair on the other side of her desk.

Rosie did as she was told and wrinkled her nose at the teacup that the professor had placed in front of her.

"I'm not really thirsty ma'am." Rose grimaced, pushing the tea away.

Umbridge raised an eyebrow. "Do drink it. I insist. We may be here a little while."

Knowing better than to disobey a direct order while she was at the mercy of the woman, she took a large gulp of tea, cringing at the amount of sugar added, and set the cup back down on the plate.

"Now then, Miss Potter. I have been informed by a member of my Inquisitorial Squad that there is a secret student organization conspiring against me in Dumbledore's name. Is this true?"

Her chest tightened and Rose was just about to deny all claims when her mouth opened involuntarily. Much to her horror, words came out, words that she didn't mean to say.

"Yes. It's true."

She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes widening.

Umbridge's grinned with her teeth this time. "I see, and whose idea was this little group?"

"M…my...Hermione Granger." Rosie stuttered and then her eyes pricked with tears. She was under the influence of some sort of mind control.

"Excellent sweetheart. We're almost done." The woman reassured. "Now tell me, did you help Miss Granger to form this illegal student association?"

"Yes." Her mouth moved

"Very good, and Albus Dumbledore? Is the headmaster aware of these illicit activities? Does he sanction them… or encourage them?"

"No. He doesn't know."

Umbridge frowned when she said that and hummed to herself.

"I'm sorry Rose dear, you said that it was his idea?"

"I didn't say that!" The only control she had over the words that left her mouth was the change in pitch.

The professor stood up and motioned for her to follow.

By the time they'd reached the headmaster's office, Rosie was beginning to feel tired. Her belly hurt, and her eyes fought to stay open where she stood.

The Professor Dumbledore stood up from his chair but didn't seem to be looking at her. Instead, he was staring down Umbridge, who was motioning behind them.

Much to Rose's surprise, a stout man that she recognized immediately as Cornelius Fudge came in through the gargoyle, closely followed by another tall auror, and behind him came Kingsley.

She sighed with relief when she caught sight of the tall dark-skinned man, even though he purposefully kept his gaze from wandering toward her.

"Madame Umbridge, what seems to be the problem?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Minister, I've been watching them for weeks! It's just as I said! Rose dear, please tell me what your little organization is called…" She prodded.

"Dumbledore's Army." Rosie said clearly, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth in fear of the variety of questions that might be asked in this particular setting.

"Cornelius! The girl has been dosed with Veritaserum!" Kingsley shouted, aghast. His face gave away his preoccupation for her wellbeing.

"A necessary measure." Umbridge sniffed, then she turned her eyes on Dumbledore who was observing quietly.

"All your fear mongering about You-Know-Who never fooled us for a minute! We see your lies for what they were, a smokescreen for your bid to seize control of the ministry!"

"Naturally." The headmaster raised an eyebrow.

"No! Minister, he had nothing to do with it! It was me!" Rosie tried, but her eyelids were beginning to droop, and a heavy sickness started to descend into her lower belly.

"It is most noble of you to shield me my dear girl, but as you stated earlier, it is called, Dumbledore's army, not Potter's army. I instructed Rose to form this organization, and I alone and responsible for its activities."

Fudge's eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked back and forth from Rosie to Dumbledore, and then back toward Umbridge. "Dispatch an owl to the Daily Prophet. If we hurry were can still make tomorrow's addition."

"Dawlish! Shacklebolt! Please escort Dumbledore to Azkaban to await a trial for conspiracy and sedition."

There was something wrong with Rose's body. She felt dizzy, and her nausea had quickly intensified, now presenting as sharp pains in her lower abdomen. The feeling was uncomfortably familiar.

She was hearing the words that the minister spoke, but her mind was too slow to process them. Dumbledore, and Azkaban were two words that did not belong together.

"Ah. I thought we might hit this little snag." The headmaster nodded. "You seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am going to… What is the phrase? Come quietly. You see, I have no intention of going to Azkaban."

"Enough of this! Seize him!" Umbridge screeched.

The last thing that Rosie saw was a large ball of red flames before her brain stopped working and her body slumped. As she fell into a blissful darkness, she heard Kingsley's desperate shout and felt a pair of large arms close around her.


	106. Chapter 106

**AN- So if you've made it this far into this story, you've probably noticed my tendency to focus heavily on character relationships and emotion rather than intricate plot details. This has caused some major characters and plots to be left out. You may have noticed a complete and utter lack of Hedwig throughout this entire story, also Grawp, and Hagrid hasn't made an appearance since like second year.**

 **I assure you; these things were all done by accident.**

 **This story is about trauma recovery. It is not a retelling of the Harry Potter series, so I'm hoping that you've all just filled all those things in with your minds or excluded them entirely without consequence. Anyways, my point is that in this particular chapter, I'm going with the movie plot, and purposefully excluding events from the book because it feels like it fits better. So, I hope you're all good with that. I've not gotten a complaint about my plot yet… aside from the Rose/Sirius pairing, so here's to hoping it stays that way! Thanks for reading! Meg**

Severus had been at a meeting. The topic of discussion that evening included the Dark Lord's typical ostentatious bragging, along with another dose of "How to lure Rose away from the school?" Which was then followed by a healthy session of torture to mark Severus' failure to bring the girl to him.

The Dark Lord was becoming exceedingly desperate, and the potion's master was beginning to worry that he'd begin to take his efforts to the next level.

As was typical, Severus sent off a patronus to Albus after the meeting, and sat down heavily onto his sofa, rubbing his temples, before pouring a drink. Expecting the headmaster to make his way down to the dungeons, he was surprised to receive Fawkes in his chambers instead.

The bird had always intimidated Severus, and it cocked its head, stretching a leg out to offer the note attached to it.

He approached slowly, taking the bit of parchment between his fingers and unrolling it.

 _Severus,_

 _I do hope you find yourself well. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I've been forced to relocate. For the time being, Professor Umbridge will be taking over my position and assuming the role of Headmistress._

 _I am quite concerned for our young flower, as she was noticeably ill when I took my leave, though, I'm sure that Kingsley has contacted Remus by now. You will most likely find her in the hospital wing. I've requested that Mr. Shacklebolt fill you in on the rather dramatic events of this evening._

 _Do take care._

 _PS- Fawkes enjoys to be stroked behind the ears._

Making haste, Severus discarded his drink on the table, pausing only to remove his death eater mask and robes, and then began the trek up to the hospital wing wondering just what exactly his charge had done to herself now.

The shouting carried its way down the corridor.

"Well! I have never heard of such an allergy! Mr. Shacklebolt, I do think that if you don't control the reaction of this half-breed then you shall be forced to detain him!"

"Madame Umbridge let me remind you that it was you who decided to use an illegal potion on a student without considering the consequences!"

"Pfft. Allergic to truth serum, a likely excuse." The woman snipped just as the potion's master appeared in the doorway.

"I'm sure that I must have misunderstood. Surely, the Hogwarts High Inquisitor would not administer a Class A restricted potion such as Veritaserum to a student, without first consulting the school's potion's master." Severus drawled, raising an eyebrow.

Rose was unconscious on one of the hospital cots and the wolf was poised over her protectively. Black sat in a chair behind him, his hands balled into fists. Both looked up when he entered.

Turning away from the fowl woman, Severus nodded toward Lupin.

"Has Poppy been informed of Miss. Potter's Valeriana intolerance?" He asked calmly.

The man pursed his lips and nodded. "She's just finished giving her a potion to counter the effects, one of yours I think, and she's gone to fire call St. Mungos for any further consult."

"Very well. I assume that as acting Headmistress, you will grant Potter the required recovery time for such a reaction."

Umbridge sniffed. "Well I certainly can't excuse the girl from sitting her OWL examinations if that's what you're suggesting."

"Not at all." His eyes narrowed.

When the newly appointed headmistress had retired for the evening, Severus sat down next to Rose on the other side of the bed from her dogs, eying Kingsley.

"What happened?" He gestured to the still sleeping child in front of him.

"From what I understand, Rose was summoned to meet with Delores this afternoon, where she was given tea laced with Veritaserum. Rosie admitted to aiding in the formation of an illegal student defense group, which the Headmaster decided to take responsibility for." The auror relayed.

"Then she passed out." Black added.

"Really? I hadn't understood that part." Severus glared.

"Fuck off Sniv."

"Don't call Severus that name…" Rosie moaned, bringing her hand up to press against her forehead.

"Of course, you wake up right now." He grumbled, sneering at Severus again.

He smirked. The girl was forever his faithful defender. There was smug satisfaction in the fact that when it came down to it, Rose nearly always sided with him.

Of course, he loved the girl. She was the single most important person in his life, but that didn't change the fact that she was the child of James Potter. Severus knew it was petty, but he was nothing if not that.

"Rosie, how do you feel?" Lupin fretted, mothering around her, his face lined with worry.

"I didn't mean to say anything, I swear, I couldn't help it." She began to fuss, attempting to pull herself up into a sitting position.

"Oh, I know princess…"

The wolf had always been better at soothing Rose than he was.

Professor Umbridge was now almost untouchable.

As headmistress, she was now in charge of rules regarding safe detention practices, and every member on the DA sign up list was assigned detentions with the blood quills.

Rosie's hand was now raw from the strain of daily lines, and her heart ached to watch little Dennis Creevey, the youngest in the group, suffer the same fate as the rest of them.

The only thing that Severus could do was provide a potion for afterwards to help heal the cuts. For obvious reasons, Rose did not write home about the renewal of the archaic punishment. She knew that Moony would pull her out of school, and she was almost ready to sit her OWLs.

She had been correct in assuming that Fred and George had been suffering in silence since they'd been banned from the quidditch team, enduring the blood quills at the same time that she'd been forced to listen to Umbridge's rendition of Lockhart's stories.

The twins had been so secretive, that it was beginning to become disconcerting to Rosie. She'd approached them several times for clues about what they'd been up to, but they'd not even given her so much as a hint.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long to find out.

Exams had officially begun, and Moony was beside himself. Rosie hadn't realized how much stock her wonderful, sweet, and studious godfather actually put into grades. The werewolf didn't make a habit of annoying her on purpose, in fact, it was rare that they experienced any level of discord, but OWLs were something that caused a sliver on tension between the pair of them.

Sirius had tried to explain that Moony had never had many professional opportunities, so his idea of success was based almost entirely around school grades, but that had made her feel even worse.

Rose didn't want to disappoint her godfather. He had been there for her through everything. He'd held her, soothed her, made excuses for her, and even gone against his own better judgment for her sake, and this is how she would repay him. She would receive barely enough OWLs to scrape by.

It wasn't for lack of trying…or perhaps it was, only, it was hard to feel motivated to try when she was so focused on staying alive.

The defense exam was easy. Apparently, it didn't matter that she'd dropped out of defense class, her spell work was excellent in comparison to her peers, and the judges had been especially impressed by her patronus, which she'd thrown in there at the end for points.

Right after defense, the same afternoon, had been the potions exam. The theory was hard, and the practical portion was even harder. She'd tried to channel Severus' voice in her head, but it'd just managed to lull her into a near sleep state.

By the end of that exam, Rosie had forgotten the difference between Draught of Peace and Draught of Tranquility, which was the major essay question, and her Forgetfulness potion was purple instead of green.

Severus would kill her.

Professor McGonagall was easily Rosie's favorite teacher this year, and her exam was the best core subject after defense. The professor had requested to observe the exams, and during hers, she had smiled encouragingly at Rose as the water goblet sprouted a tail, coaxing her with her eyes to finish the transfiguration.

In charms, they'd been assigned an essay exam based on the charm that they were most proficient in. Rosie wished she could see the examiner's face when he read her particularly informative paper on the contraceptive spell.

Options were easy. Care of Magical Creatures was a breeze, and Arithmancy was almost fun.

The morning of the History of Magic OWL, their last ordinary wizarding level exam, Hermione had woken her up early for some extra practice. History was one of Rosie's worst subjects.

Moony had really tried to get her to remember the dates of each giant, goblin, and ghost war, but on top of everything else, it'd be just too much. There had been one awful night, a lesson with her godfather where he'd kept her so late studying that the moment she left the classroom, she'd burst into tears.

Of course, Rosie hadn't been far enough away for Moony not to encounter her on his way out and he'd felt so guilty for keeping her there that he'd nearly started bawling himself.

She remembered vividly Sirius' conviction from the trial the Remus never cried, but it seemed that the years had broken down his stoicism.

Emotions were high everywhere, but her little family was especially tense. It seemed that at the end of each year, something always happened, and everyone was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The great hall was silent as the hours ticked by. Rosie was scratching her head, trying to decide if she should go for the prettiest name, Halime the Helpful, or the ugliest name, Griselda the Gruñon as the famous Goblin princess when the noise began.

It started as a loud bang, which was followed by another, and then an almighty burst of magic and energy as the doors to the hall were flung open.

The Weasley twins, on their confiscated brooms, sped into the room grinning wider than she'd seen them do in months. In their hands appeared to be an arsenal of fireworks.

Before anyone had a chance to react, the boys tossed the sparklers into the air, creating explosions strong enough to swallow the screams.

Umbridge arose from her position at the head table, her look of fury the only evidence through the noise that she was angry.

Only Hermione seemed unwilling to abandon her exam to follow the boys out onto the terrace, but even she gave in eventually, grasping onto Rose's hand and smiling up at the large W now painted in the sky. Ron was to her right laughing like a fool as his brothers faded from view.

There was so much joy and excitement, but there was also something wrong.

Rosie's breath caught and her eyes nearly rolled back into her head as her scar lit up with a searing pain.

She was on the ground…no. Rosie was on the floor, the tiled ministry floor from her dreams, only this time, there were things all around her.

Beyond the door, hundreds, maybe thousands of silvery orbs sat perched on the shelves. These must be the prophecies.

Rose was finally inside the hall of prophecies.

Squinting, she could make out a figure, a man, bound to a chair up by aisle ninety-seven, his long dark hair obscuring his face.

"Crucio!" Came the familiar, high pitched voice as the hidden figure emerged.

The man in the chair threw his head back and screamed, his eyes squeezing shut and his lips parting as the sound left him. Moving closer, Rosie realized with a start exactly who was in danger here.

Sirius.

This was Sirius. Voldemort was hurting him. He had him in the hall of prophecies.

Severus' words from the death eater meeting hung like a curtain in her mind. _"Indeed, Potter would do anything and everything to ensure their continued safety."_

He'd been talking about Moony and Sirius, and now, her ex-godfather, her most trusted confidant, and her very best friend was at the mercy of the Dark Lord.

"You'll have to kill me." Sirius spat through gritted teeth, his voice worn and haggard, reminding her sharply of their very first meeting.

He could not…He wouldn't take him too. Voldemort had taken everything, but not Sirius, not today.

Rose gasped; her fingers wet with blood from her scar as the real world began to become clearer.

Hermione was bent over her, face etched in concern and eyes darting nervously to Ron.

"Sirius!" She cried, nearly double over with the effort it took to stand.

"What's wrong? What did you see?" Ron prodded nervously.

"He's got Sirius… I have to… I've got to go!"

"Rose, wait. Don't do anything too rash." Hermione whispered; her tone urgent.

Rosie was shaking now; her vision was clouding over and her body was tense and panicked.

Twisting away from her friend, she tried to move towards the staircase, her mind reeling, desperate for a plan.

She needed to get to him.

Ron stepped forward then, grasping her shoulders from behind with his large hands. Her body recoiled.

"GET OFF ME!" Rose screeched, her elbow coming out instinctively, hitting him in the jaw.

"Sirius!" She sobbed again, fighting for control of her mind.

Hermione was in a frenzy now. They could hear Umbridge approaching and her friend had the good sense to ignore her pleas and push her into an abandoned broom closet.

"Rose. Where's your mirror? You can call Sirius on your mirror."

"I…it's in my trunk. I need to go to him!"

"I'll go get it. Just calm down. It might be a trick; he may be trying to fool you. Remember, he knows you can see into his mind. You stay with Ron and I'll be right back." She ordered, looking her square in the eyes, daring Rosie to argue.

She nodded curtly and then sank to the floor of the broom cupboard, her sobs rising in volume. Ron cast a silencing spell and then knelt down next to her, discomfort evident in his expression.

"Rose, shh. There there." He patted her back.

"He's taken everything! He can't take Sirius too! I'll die…I won't survive this!"

"Sirius will be okay Rose. We'll make sure he's safe. If he's not at Grimmauld, we'll go get Snape and have him look. Yeah?"

She pulled at her hair anxiously, burying her face into Ron's shoulder and letting out another agonized moan.

Hermione returned with the mirror several minutes later, holding it out to her with unsteady hands. Rosie gripped it in both of hers, her voice coming out in a trembling whine.

"S…Sirius?"

His beautiful, wonderful, smiling face appeared in the glass only seconds after she spoke.

"Heya Rosie, got some gossip for me?" Sirius smirked.

"Oh, thank god!" She choked on another sob. "Thank god, thank Merlin. Oh Sirius!"

The crying was uncontrollable now.

"Rose?!" He sounded alarmed. "What the hell is the matter?"

She wasn't able to speak, her throat constricted with emotion.

"She had another vision from Voldemort." Hermione filled in. "He was torturing you in the Department of Mysteries."

His eyes widened. "Oh Rosie. Prongslet, I'm here. I'm just at home, Moony's in the shower. Nothing's wrong, all normal."

"Oh god Siri, I thought you were… fuck. I can't lose you."

"Hey. Relax love. You haven't. I'm still here. Do you want me to come up to the castle? I'll come if you need."

"N…no it's okay. I'll be fine. I'm okay now." She exhaled, her breaths evening out as the weight of the situation came crashing down."

"Are you sure? You know I don't mind."

"I think I'm just gonna have a nap." Rosie shook her head, frowning and rubbing her head.

Sirius nodded, his brows still pinched in concern, but he let her go.

"Do you mind if I go back and finish my exam?" Hermione questioned, biting her lip.

"Yeah, I can bring you up to the common room." Ron nodded.

"It's fine, both of you should finish your exams. I can go up by myself." She assured, her voice losing its terrified edge in favor of exhaustion.

The walk seemed longer than normal, each staircase feeling more like a mountain. Rosie was just about to turn down the corridor with the fat lady portrait when she spotted him.

Sirius was waiting for her outside the portrait hole, his arms crossed.

Her heart surged. He came.

"Sirius!" She called, rushing forward and nearly leaping into his arms.

"Rose!" Her ex-godfather grinned. He hugged her for only a moment, and then pulled away.

"You scared me so much." Rosie looked up at him, her eyes beginning to water again.

"Well… I'm alright. It was just a vision."

She shrugged. "It felt pretty real to me."

He grimaced. "C'mon Remus wants to talk to you." Sirius set a hand on her lower back as if to guide her away.

"What? Moony's here? Why?"

"He's worried about your exam, wants to go over the answers with you."

"Uh, well I definitely failed. I hope he's not mad." She sighed.

"He might be mad for a while, but he'll come around. He is your godfather."

Rosie followed him tiredly through the school until they arrived at the doors to entrance hall.

"Why is Moony down here? Did he apparate?"

"Yes, he apparated. The floo is down." Sirius nodded, bringing his hand up to rest higher on her back.

She shivered.

"It's kinda cold out Siri, can you just go get him? I'll wait." Rosie rubbed at her arms.

"Don't be silly Rose. It's June. If you can survive double potions with Professor Snape in those dungeons, then you'll be fine to meet Remus."

There was something off about Sirius. He never used Severus' proper title.

"Are you feeling ok Siri?"

Her ex-godfather grinned. "Of course, Rose, I'm just happy to see you. I was worried."

"You're telling me." She grumbled.

"You know that I wouldn't put myself in danger just for the hell of it Rose."

"Uh huh. What happened to Mr. I Solemnly Swear?"

His face flitted with confusion the barest hint of a second before he watched her laugh, and then followed her lead, letting out a short chuckle.

She paused, and then with a touch of Gryffindor courage, crossed her arms and looked at him.

"Hey, do you remember the time when you took me to Godric's hollow, to visit dad's grave?"

"Yeah absolutely, why?" The man replied without hesitation.

Rosie froze. She hadn't actually expected him to fail the test. She'd been begging him to take her to visit her parents' graves for months, but he'd refused, too overcome with emotion.

"S…Sirius. I've never been to Godric's hollow." She stated softly, backing away from him, her hand slipping into her pocket, searching for her wand.


	107. Chapter 107

**I would like to preface this chapter by saying that Rose and Sirius will not be getting together until she is of age.**

Heart hammering in her chest, Rosie's fingers closed around her wand and her face gave away her concern.

Sirius…or Definitely- not-Sirius, held his hands out towards her in surrender.

"Rose, what's wrong? I wasn't paying attention; I know you haven't been."

She looked around for people, exits, anything. The only escape was the path that he'd been leading her on.

"W…Who are you?"

"It's me. Rose, you know me. C'mon don't do this." He was frowning, and he appeared genuinely hurt, but she wasn't so sure.

"Tell me something that only Siri would know." She demanded, now hold her wand out in front of her threateningly.

"What do you want me say?" He pouted. "I'm an animagus, a big black dog…Padfoot."

Rosie faltered and let out a shaky breath. "What did I call you before that?"

He winced. "My memory's not as good since Azkaban." Siri-not-Siri kept his hands up by his head.

"You would remember…You should remember." She was beginning to panic.

"C'mon Rose, Princess. Moony's waiting."

That was the last clue. Sirius called her many names: Rosie, Prongslet, Precious, hell, he'd even sometimes call her a bitch, but never once had he called her princess.

"Wrong godfather." She spat, taking a step back and brandishing her wand at him again.

Imposter Sirius' face changed then from a gentle pleading expression to one of resigned anger.

Rosie let out a loud scream as the man lunged forward, knocking her wand out of her hand and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

She whimpered as he jabbed his wand into her throat and whispered, "You'll come with me Potter."

The man began to drag her away, jostling her roughly. Rose struggled against him. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, gasping as he stabbed the sharp end of his wand further into her throat.

"Silence." He hissed.

They'd nearly made it to the apparition point outside the entrance hall when another, much more accurate version of her ex-godfather appeared at the doors, her wand clutched in his hands and his face contorted in horror as he caught sight of her being dragged off by none other than himself.

He had come afterall.

Professor McGonagall came rushing in from behind.

"Siri!" She called frantically, struggling harder.

Sirius' reacted to her shout, taking off into a sprint towards her, but they were too close to the apparition point already, and with a twist of his body, the imposter had taken her from the school grounds.

They landed with a loud crack outside of a muggle telephone booth and not-Sirius caught her, jerking her violently towards him by the arm.

Now wandless, Rosie tried desperately to think of some kind of solution to this as she was jostled into the telephone booth.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and your business." A disembodied voice announced.

"Sirius Black, escorting Rose Potter."

"You're not Sirius Black!" She hissed, slamming her head back against him as hard as she could.

The man grunted in pain, but his grip on her only tightened.

The phone booth seemed to work like an elevator, and when they'd reached the bottom, he pulled her through into the atrium, and then pushed her up against the wall from behind.

Rosie's cheek was squished into the cold stone wall and she could feel Sirius' body pressed up against her.

"This needn't be painful my dear. All I need is that prophecy. You'll retrieve it, and I'll let you go." His breath was hot in her ear.

"Fuck off." She growled, trying to wiggle away again to no avail.

"You will hold your tongue with me girl." Not-Sirius sneered, and then, with one swift motion, he brought his hand up and twisted it in her hair, manipulating her body with her head.

"Ouch! You son of a-!" She began to shriek, but Rosie was learning quickly that nobody could hear her.

Sans wand, Rose was more than useless.

Without much of a choice, she followed the godfather impersonator through the empty atrium and towards one of the large elevators. He didn't speak much to her, and she didn't try to make conversation. Rosie still didn't know who this really was.

The hall of prophecies was a lot bigger than she'd thought it would be. There were thousands of milky glass orbs stacked in uniform lines just like in her earlier vision.

On their way to aisle ninety-seven, around fifty or so, Rosie sighed. The man had relaxed his grip on her hair and was now holding onto the fabric of her sweater from behind. All she had to do was stall. Surely, the order would've been able to figure out where she'd been taken. They'd be on their way.

"Sir, I really need the loo." Rose interrupted, making a show of fidgeting.

"Prophecy first." He grunted back, managing to sound remarkably like brooding-Azkaban Sirius.

She knew that Polyjuice potion only lasted an hour, and by that point, at least forty-five minutes had passed.

Rosie wished that she'd gotten a chance to change out of her school uniform before her kidnapping. Her black dress shoes were not practical for running and taking them off would mean slipping around in her tights and skirt; if only she'd inherited her dad's transfiguration ability.

She tried to focus on thoughts like these, trivial ones, to distract herself from the sheer panic of the situation, but once they reached the aisle in which she'd seen Sirius tortured, Rose snapped back into reality and began to formulate a plan.

Sirius-not-Sirius stood behind her, his hands firmly pressed against her shoulders as he spoke into her ear.

"Take it off the shelf." He commanded, pointing to one of the prophecies on the middle right.

Rosie squinted as she read the words on the tag below it.

 _S.P.T.- A.P.W.B.D._

 _Dark Lord and Rose Potter._

"I'm not listening to you." She shrugged, realizing in that moment that he needed her alive.

The death eater apparently wasn't expecting her to defy his orders, and his eyes narrowed.

Rose wasn't prepared for his next move. "Imperio." He hissed, holding his wand to her temple.

Her hands were stretched out towards the shelf by the time she was able to throw it off. He growled as she pulled them back.

"You'll need to try a bit hard- Ouch!"

Imposter Sirius had latched onto her hair again, holding his wand up to her face.

"Pick up the damn prophecy!"

Rosie reached her hand back, groping around for any piece or part of him, trying anything she could to cause pain, but he dodged her hands skillfully, still locking her in the same position.

"Tsk tsk. Potter, you're just digging yourself into a deeper hole. You know It'll only get worse. Better to just do what I asked."

"Do what you want." She muttered, hoping to bide just a bit more time.

Rosie swore she could hear him smile.

The wand was lowered from her temple and then suddenly, large, familiar hands circled around her torso and snaked up onto her bare stomach, slipping beneath her sweater and travelling slowly upwards.

Panic.

" _Oh, please, not that, not that. Not with Sirius' body. Please not Siri."_ Rosie chanted inside her head, recoiling in disgust.

This could not happen. Not like this.

"How far will I have to go for little Rosey Posey to give in?" The man taunted, tucking his hand into the front of her bra and groping at her bare breast.

She smothered a whimper of fear and then steeled herself again, closing her eyes.

Realizing that he had her then, Not-Sirius let out a chuckle and brought his face down to her level, the familiar stubble of his cheeks grazing the skin up by her eyes.

Her chest heaved with the sob the she'd suppressed, and the death eater took the opportunity to bargain with her once more.

"Just take the prophecy Rosey. Take it or Sirius's gonna have to get mean." His breath was sticky on her face.

At this point, Rose was pretty sure she knew who this person was. There was something eerily familiar about him, and she realized that she'd just have to take the chance if she wanted to get out of this unscathed.

"Not happening." Rosie shook her head against his chest.

The imposter's wand was lowered in this position. His grip on her had loosened once he'd realized that her fear would keep her still. She would need to use this to her advantage.

His fingers closed around her right nipple then, pinching it hard, and she let out a pained squeal of revulsion.

"That's it Rosey. Scream for Sirius." He chuckled, slipping the hand out of her bra and down her belly again until his fingers reached waist of her skirt.

Using his vulnerable position to her benefit, and thinking fast, Rosie let out a dry laugh.

"Are you really gonna take your son's sloppy seconds Lucius?" She asked.

Without turning to see his face, she brought her arm forward and then hurled her elbow back into his nose, twisting on the spot and grabbing the prophecy off the shelf.

Lucius Malfoy had stumbled backward, Sirius' black hair receding and replacing itself with blonde as blood poured from his nostrils.

The man's eyes were wide, but he seemed to snap out of his stupor when he understood that she was holding the prophecy.

With all her strength, she hurled the silvery orb at the ground, watching it shatter. Sybil Trelawny's mystical voice began to rise from the pieces, but was drowned out by Rosie, who, after realizing this, let out an ear-splitting scream.

Horrified, the now fully reassembled Malfoy lunged forward, hands grasping at her.

Rose took advantage of his panic and made a break towards the door closest to them. Thrusting it open, she hurried inside, not daring to look back, and chose the closest entrance to her right after that.

Choosing doors at random and hurling herself forward, room after room, she moved, not stopping to observe the contents of or the spaces that she occupied.

There was no sign of Lucius behind her, and she was tired, so she decided to take a break in one of the darker rooms, tucking herself behind some unassuming crates. Everything seemed to be too loud. Her breathing was too loud. Every tiny noise felt as though it was magnified in the silence.

She swore that the thumping of her heart could be heard three rooms away.

Where the hell was the order?

Lucius Malfoy, in his desperation to find Rose had called the death eaters just as Sirius and Remus, along with the rest of the order had arrived at the ministry.

Rosie was nowhere to be found. Sirius had ducked out, with Remus trailing behind him to search the maze of experimental rooms behind the hall of prophecies as the others held the death eaters at bay.

It'd been just after they'd split off, Remus hanging a left and Sirius taking the right door that he'd spotted her.

Rose stood, with her back to him, crouched behind a stack of crates. She was whispering softly to herself, and even from his spot by the exit he could hear her teeth chattering.

Very carefully, he snuck up from behind, doing everything in his power to keep quiet, to prevent her from turning around. The last thing they needed was to draw the death eaters towards them.

Using the element of surprise, Sirius closed the gap and slipped his right hand firmly over her mouth, the other coming to rest on her stomach, pulling her back into him.

"Don't scream." He ordered and Rosie convulsed in his arms.

She fought him wildly, her eyes wide and terrified as he gagged her.

"Shh. Shh. Rosie, precious, it's me. It's just me. Don't scream. Please don't scream."

There were tears in her eyes as he slowly slid his hand off her mouth, testing her reaction.

"I'm sorry love. I'm sorry, you just need to be quiet."

"S…Sirius" She stuttered.

He nodded, holding a hand out towards her as she backed away.

"What was the first name I ever called you?"

"Huh?" His brows knitted with confusion.

"As a dog, before Padfoot. What did I call you?" Her voice was shaky but commanding.

"Sweetie." He answered automatically. "You called me sweetie."

Suddenly, his arms were full of teenage girl. "Oh Siri, oh thank Merlin it's you!"

"Shh. You need to keep quiet." He urged, stroking her hair as she clung to him.

"Listen hon, you've got to pull it together. Yeah? We've got to get you out of here."

Sirius detached her from him and fished around in his robe pocket, pulling out Rose's wand, and offering it to her.

She took it and closed her eyes briefly, seemingly gathering strength.

"Where's Moony? Is Moony here?"

"He's looking for you in the other rooms. The order's upstairs holding off the death eaters. You come with me, and I'll take you home." He nodded, but she pursed her lips.

"I'm not leaving until we've got Moony too."

"Rose. Remus is a great dueler. He'll be fine. He'd want me to take you home."

Rosie crossed her arms and Sirius knew that he'd lost.

Sighing dramatically, he took hold of her arm and began to drag her through the rooms, searching for his best friend.

"I don't want to linger too long kid. If Voldemort comes here, he could grab the prophecy."

"I broke it." She informed him flatly and Sirius stilled.

That was good, but also bad. If the prophecy was broken, then the only ones who knew its content were he, Remus, and Rose. However, if the dark lord came to the ministry, he'd most certainly try to get the information out of one of them.

Sirius knew that no amount of torture would result in him revealing anything to Voldemort, and Remus had a wickedly high pain tolerance, but Rosie… She was tough, but the question was, how tough was she?"

He knew better than to wait and find out.

Sirius pulled Rosie in through another door, his face set with worry as he watched over her. Neither of them looked before entering, and both were caught by surprise as the floor came out from under their feet.

She couldn't stop the scream that left her lips as they fell. Sirius, as he had on many occasions, caught her. He slowed them and brought her toward him just as he had their first time at Cassius, until they were left standing in a large, empty chamber.

The walls were high and made of stone. There was a great center mass of rock in the middle, upon which sat a dais, and an archway, perhaps ten feet tall.

Sirius seemed to be nearly as entranced by the archway as she was, as they both moved forward, pulled forth by the hushed whispering that seemed to come from behind a thin, misty veil in the center.

Soft tendrils of magic coaxed Rosie closer towards the dais as the whispers turned into words.

"Rose. Rose, sweetheart."

It was the voice of her mother, the one from Severus' memory.

"Siri. We should step back." She cautioned when they were mere feet from the delicate barrier.

"Wait. Rosie, I hear…" The desperate longing in his voice was obvious, and equally heartbreaking.

"I know." She interrupted, closing her hand around his wrist. "But you shouldn't trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain." Rosie continued, remembering the wise words of Arthur Weasley.

Her ex-godfather looked torn.

Luckily, she didn't have to do much more convincing as Moony appeared behind them, coming in through a separate door on the far wall.

"Sirius!" He called. "Keep Rose away from there." His voice was firm but anxious.

That seemed to snap him out of his indecision, and he took a large step back to join her.

Moony was making his way over towards them when the door that he'd come through burst open.

Lucius Malfoy, followed by several other masked men entered into the room, immediately drawing their wands and shooting spells off at them.

Her godfather was the first to react. The werewolf erected a large shield around the trio.

"Get her out of here!" He shouted at Siri, doing his best to hold them off.

Sirius seemed to jump into action. He too conjured a shield, and then grabbed tightly onto her arm as white light descended upon the chamber.

Kingsley, Tonks, Moody, Hestia, Arthur, and the twins joined them, wands drawn and ready for a fight. Others quickly followed suit.

Moony had his hands full keeping Malfoy at bay, and it appeared that they were going for a divide and conquer strategy. She and Sirius were still standing next to the veil when a jet of blue light shot towards the pair of them.

Siri blocked it and pushed her back behind him.

Two of the death eaters rounded on them. One, she knew, was Nott, and the other was Crabbe. Sirius deflected another spell and then shot off a pair of stunners, which were blocked by the two men.

One of them returned with a body bind, which Siri blocked as well, but he hadn't seen the Impedimenta jinx fly towards him, and he was momentarily slowed as it made contact.

Without thinking, Rosie stepped forward and took his place, screaming,

"Finite! Stupefy! Stupefy! Incarcerous!" In rapid succession.

Now free from the jinx, Sirius moved in beside her, and began to fire again, but he didn't push her away this time.

Instead, he grinned, and nudged her shoulder playfully when she shot a body bind toward Crabbe that hit.

"Nice one Rosie!"

Nott ended the bind and shot a cutting curse, aiming it at her wand arm, but Sirius jumped in front of that one, casting a shield in the nick of time.

Now awkwardly positioned, Siri couldn't quite protect her from the effect of the Confringo, which Nott had sent her way, so Rosie was forced to cast a haphazard shield.

She was blown back by the blast a few feet, and Sirius covered the loss, sending off two rapid fire binding hexes.

Crabbe was to slow to block, and thick ropes bound his arms to his torso, causing him to drop to the ground.

Nott retaliated, sending a blasting hex toward Siri, who was distracted shielding himself from the effects.

Raising his wand hand, Nott moved to free Crabbe, but before he was able to, Rosie lashed out on instinct, aimed her wand at his arm and shouted,

"Sectumsempra!"

Nott's anguished scream echoed throughout the chamber as his hand split from his arm, dropping to the ground with a sickening thud, his wand rolling away from him.

Sirius' eyes widened and he let out a shocked laugh as he stared, stunned, at the man she'd mutilated.

He turned towards her, laughing almost maniacally now, like he couldn't quite believe that she'd just done that. The rest of the order members appeared to be wrapping up their own duels, and Sirius, still shaking his head approached her, stepping in front of the Veil and holding out a hand.

Just then, from a raise platform on the other side of the chamber, a high-pitched and girlish voice screeched,

"Avada Kedavra!"

Rosie had just enough time to process the information that she was given before she reacted.

Killing curse. Bellatrix. Sirius. Move.

Acting purely on instinct, Rosie found herself straddled on top of her ex-godfather, who was now flat on his back on the dais.

The curse had missed them by an inch.

The rest of the order had jumped in to subdue Bellatrix, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and Rosie pressed her face into Sirius' neck, letting out a little cry of relief.

Siri had his hand on her back now and was coaxing her to sit up.

"Merlin. Thanks for that Rosie." He breathed, pulling her up and into a tight hug. He kissed the top of her head, and then spun her around so that they could observe the chamber.

Kingsley was gathering the injured and unresponsive death eaters in a circle and binding them. It looked like he and Tonks were making the arrests.

She felt a grim satisfaction to see Lucius Malfoy among the captured.

Bellatrix had fled.

Though the rest of the order seemed to be winding down, Sirius and Moony exchanged a worried look, both glancing up to the spot where Bellatrix had been perched.

It didn't take long before Rose understood exactly why they were uneasy.

Out of nowhere, her scar seared with pain. She clapped her hand to her forehead, but she couldn't stop herself from stumbling to the ground.

"Rose!" Moony gasped, hurrying over towards them.

The last time that Rosie's scar had hurt this badly was the night in the graveyard. She reacted almost as quickly.

"Get away from me!" She screamed, trying to move away from her godfather and Sirius.

There would be no more spares.

"Rose, honey…"

"No! Leave! Please!" She was panicking now.

Voldemort materialized in the center of the chamber like at apparition.

He was smiling, and his hands were raised as he admired the veil where she and Sirius had previously been standing.

The order members behind them didn't seem to know quite how to react, but Rosie had two sets of hands on her. Remus, who was holding her wrist in a death grip, and Sirius whose hand was curled into the back of her sweater, much like his imposter's had been earlier.

"Good evening Rose." Voldemort spoke pleasantly, feigning distractedness.

She didn't reply.

"I expect you know why you were brought here tonight." He smiled again. "But, alas, my followers have failed me, as I hear that our little prophecy is … no longer."

Silence.

"It is polite to respond little flower." The dark lord nodded, raising his wand.

"Imperio!" He cast before either Sirius or Remus could do anything to protect her.

It was tougher to resist than Lucius' curse, but still no more difficult than the graveyard.

"It appears that you're still remarkably unaffected by my persuasion. Shall we test your resistance to our… other favorite spell?"

Rosie knew what would happen before it did. Moony did too, and he stepped in front of her just as the curse left his lips. Her godfather fell to his knees screaming.

It was sickening, worse than the transformation that she'd witnessed, and Rosie couldn't bear it. Sirius tried to pull her back, but Rose fought him. It felt as though her heart was being wrenched from her chest.

She just could not take one more second of seeing Moony tortured.

Kingsley raised his wand, and that's when she knew that she had to intervene. Nobody was going to die for her tonight.

In quick succession, catching everyone completely by surprise, Rosie cast a rapid firing of spells.

"Finite! Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus! Depulso!"

Sirius stumbled backwards, falling onto the ground, his face a mixture of shock and horror as Kingsley's wand flew out of his hand. She'd banished Moony to the Auror's side, and that just left she and Voldemort.

"My. That was fun. You are an interesting creature." The snakelike man approached her curiously.

Rosie tried to ignore the burning in her scar as best she could, but it was hard to see through the pain as he moved closer.

She felt his mind brush the surface of hers and slammed her occlumency defenses up.

He laughed. "Yes, Severus did mention that he'd been teaching you occlumency. Very well done. Unfortunately, I'm quite determined to hear that prophecy this evening."

Rosie felt him push past her defenses, and Dumbledore's face appeared in her mind.

" _The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches…"_

Then it stopped, and out of the door where Moony had originally appeared, came the real Albus Dumbledore, his expression grave.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight Tom. The aurors are on their way." He began serenely, and Rosie breathed a sigh of relief.

"By which time, I shall be gone, and you will be dead." He replied with cool confidence.

At that point, Rose had backed up towards where she'd thrown Sirius, and her ex-godfather had wrapped an arm around her tensely, pulling her to his chest.

The battle that ensued between the dark lord and Dumbledore was one like Rosie had never seen before. There were no spells, hexes, or incantations. Instead, it appeared as though the two men were just throwing around light, energy, and magic.

After a moment of watching them, Rose understood Dumbledore's angle. He was trying to corner Voldemort, to back him up into the veil, and it looked like he was succeeding.

The dark lord seemed to realize this as well, and he cast some sort of powerful, dense shield, breaking down the ball of light that the headmaster had sent his way, and then disappeared into thin air.

Professor Dumbledore did not relax. In fact, if anything, he appeared more concerned. He turned to face her, his expression one that she'd never quite seen him wear before.

It was fear.

At first it felt like a hiccough. Rosie's body lurched forward slightly, and her muscles seized.

She could feel Sirius' arms come to close around her.

"Don't move Rose!" Dumbledore shouted across the chamber, coming slowly towards her.

Rosie didn't think she could move if she wanted to. In any case, the only moving that she would be doing was falling to the floor.

Then agony. Oh god, how could anything possibly be worse than the Cruciatus? This was unendurable, unbearable, and unending torture.

She must be dead, she had to be dead. Her own soul was lifting, fading far away in the background as the snake coiled from within her mind, wrapping itself thickly through her thoughts and actions, taking over her very being.

Her back arched and then her body writhed. Something…him, the snake, was pulling her upwards, using her body, moving her mouth.

"Kill me now Dumbledore."

Rosie let out a wail. Oh god. Oh please, it _hurthurthurt._ If only he would kill her.

"If death is nothing, kill the girl." She spoke again, but it wasn't her, or maybe it was.

She needed to die, needed to end it. This was too much. It was too strong.

Oh, if she could only die. She would be free, this would stop. If Dumbledore killed her, she could see Cedric again.

Rosie could hug her mother. She would finally know what it felt like to have a family.

But there was a problem. In between the pain, there was a voice. It was familiar, and scared.

So scared.

"Rosie! Princess, please. It's me, it's Moony. Sweetie please."

Moony. The _hurt_ was so bad. She couldn't remember who that was.

"Look at me. Focus on me."

Focus. Where? _Pain._

Suddenly, a face burst through the fog. It was him, Moony. Her family, and then, Oh. Oh god, it hurt again, _hurtssobad_.

Then it was gone.

Rose was left gasping for air on her back, staring up into the eyes of Lord Voldemort.

"You're a fool Rose Potter, and you will lose everything."

She collapsed into somebody's arms, and then everything went dark.

"There we go. Good girl, sit up for me." Rosie heard, and she opened her eyes, blinking several times, adjusting to the light.

Once she was seated, it was much easier to stand, and then she was leaning heavily on Sirius.

Her ex-godfather had offered to take her home to bed, and Rose wasn't sure that she'd ever heard an idea better than that one. Moony was going to stay, because Kingsley had been injured, and he wanted to see him healed.

Sirius' eyes were dark and his face somber and worried as her helped her through the floo and back to Grimmauld.

Rosie's heart was still racing, her blood pumping with adrenaline and her eyes wild.

From the moment they touched down in the dark sitting room, Siri swept her up into a bone-crushing hug, pressing his face into her neck.

"Oh god Rosie I thought we'd lost you."

"I'm ok Siri. I'm ok." She soothed, returning his embrace.

Truthfully, Rose couldn't believe that she'd gotten out of there alive either.

There was a burning intensity in her ex-godfather's eyes as he set her down again, a possessiveness, or protectiveness perhaps that was now fully on display. He brought his thumb up to touch her chin and then cupped her face with his hand tenderly.

"Prongslet, I can't lose you. Don't you dare die on me. Got it?" He pleaded.

"I'm not going anywhere." She sighed, leaning into his chest.

Siri began to trace his fingers smoothly up and down her back and Rosie pressed closer into him, relaxing at the touch.

"I love you kid."

"I love you too Sirius Black." Rosie laughed, staring up at him again with sincere eyes.

His expression was unreadable, and his brows were perched and inquisitive. Rose held his gaze, a nervous anticipation hanging in the air.

His fingers moved from her back and he dropped his hand down to her waist slowly, tracing along her body with the utmost care. Rosie gasped at the contact, enjoying the sensation.

She nearly fell over with surprise as Sirius closed the gap between them.

His lips were on hers so quickly that she barely had any time to process what was happening before his tongue was prodding for access into her mouth.

Her heart stuttered, and then stopped, just for a millisecond.

It was electrifying.

Rosie didn't fight. She melded with him naturally, and his teeth grazed her lower lip eliciting a soft little moan on her part. Her whole body tingled.

The progression was easy as he placed a hand on her lower back, pulling her in closer so that their bodies were pressed together. Rose knotted a hand in his hair and returned the kiss enthusiastically, forgetting absolutely everything else in the world for just that moment.

Sirius seemed to be coming undone and dragging her along for the ride, quite literally.

It was perfect, and beautiful, and so very very wrong.

They seemed to realize this at almost the exact same moment.

Siri froze and pulled away, lowering his hand slowly. Rosie wasn't sure he was breathing. She knew that her eyes were still wide.

He wouldn't look at her.

After a moment of silence and tension so thick it could be cut with a knife, Rose spoke.

"Sirius?" She breathed softly.

His head snapped up and their eyes met. The man's expression was filled with deep emotion, and his face crumpled.

"Rosie. Oh sweetie. I'm so sorry." He started. "I… I don't know what came over me…I…"

She closed her eyes and leaned in again, but this time, she just rested her forehead in the crook of his neck.

"Oh Rose… I shouldn't've done that." Sirius' voice was shaking.

Taking a deep breath, she reached up and cupped his face, running her thumb over his cheek.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She whispered.

"Honey, we should talk…"

"Siri, stop. It never happened. I trust you."

He held her for another moment, and then silently motioned to help her up the stairs.

As he tucked her into her bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead, Rosie finally understood exactly what role she wanted Sirius to fill in her life. It was intoxicatingly clear, and the realization could not have come at a worse moment.

Rose Potter was in love with her father's best friend.


	108. Chapter 108

Rosie didn't sleep for long. She woke up groggily in the early hours of the morning, pulling on some loose pajama shorts and heading downstairs. It couldn't be later than four or five.

There were voices coming from the kitchen, and she slowed her steps, trying to keep quiet so that she could listen.

"It was like watching you and James." Moony commented. "You were in such synchronicity. When she faltered you covered her, but she did the same for you. I didn't know she could fight like that."

"Well, I did train her. Course she fights like me."

"Yeah, but it was different than that, like a blast from the past."

"I must say that I was shocked to hear of dear Rose's use of one particular spell." Dumbledore's voice echoed back.

Severus grunted. "It is entirely my fault. I did instruct her to use it when she feared for her life."

"You mean when she cut off Nott's hand? That was fucking epic." Siri laughed. "Good one Sniv."

Rosie would've chastised him for his use of that nickname, but decided against it, because they seemed to be getting along better than she'd ever heard them.

"Sirius, you shouldn't encourage her." Moony chided.

"Encourage me to do what?" Rose played innocent, entering the kitchen.

Mouths closed at record speed. "Nothing love. How are you feeling?" Her godfather smiled falsely.

"How are you feeling? I'm not the one who jumped in front of the Cruciatus." She grumbled, crossing her arms and shooting him a weak glare.

"Speaking of that. I did not appreciate being banished by my own goddaughter." He raised an eyebrow.

Rosie shrugged.

Moony shook his head and smirked at her, motioning for her to take a seat at the counter.

"Do you feel up to a run down of events Rose?" Dumbledore questioned; his face impassive.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied, glancing over at Severus who was watching her intently.

"Let's begin with your vision, shall we? How did you come to realize that it was false?"

Rosie started to explain how Hermione's quick thinking had prevented her from doing anything rash, and then her chest clenched as she relayed the events that followed afterwards.

"Then I ran into, um, Sirius up by Gryffindor tower, and that seemed like a very Siri thing to do, come to check on me even though I told him not to…so at first I followed him."

Her ex-godfather was looking uncomfortable now.

"I am surprised that you were able to pick up on the Polyjuice so quickly." The headmaster smiled.

She bit her lip. "Well, he wasn't doing a very good job at acting. He called Severus, Professor Snape. That was my first clue. Then I just started asking him all sorts of questions that only he would know."

"Sweetie." Sirius repeated dryly. "You asked him about the name Sweetie."

She nodded. "But by the time I realized, he'd just decided to give it up and attack me, so it didn't really matter."

"Did Lucius hurt you Rose, while you were in his custody?" Severus asked then "Did he do anything to you?"

Rosie shifted in her seat, her cheeks flushing hotly. "I…I don't really wanna talk about it with Sirius here." She whispered.

Severus paled, and Siri moaned. "Oh god, what did he do? He ex-godfather cringed.

Shaking her head, Rose leaned into her hands, covering her face.

"Out Black." The potion's master commanded.

"Go bugger yourself Snape." He began but Rosie's head snapped up.

"Siri, please." She frowned.

His face fell and hurt flashed behind his eyes.

Moony, ever the peacekeeper, placed a hand on his arm. "C'mon Padfoot. We'll wait in the sitting room."

When they'd left, Severus approached, sitting down in front of her and covering her hand with his own.

His eyes met hers expectantly.

Exhaling, Rosie spoke.

"At first, he just tried to hurt me, pull my hair and stuff, then he tried the Imperius to get the prophecy, but that didn't work so he… tried other methods." She looked away.

"Of what nature?" Her guardian prodded.

"It's not that big a deal. He just, knew my weakness was all."

"Lucius touched you."

She nodded, and then the dam burst.

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried desperately to mop them up with her shirt sleeve. "He was using Sirius' body. That was the worst part…I just…I knew it wasn't him but…"

Severus nodded, putting a hand on her upper back and pressing her forward into his robes. Rosie clung to the thick fabric, burying her face into the buttons of his chest and letting out a sob.

"Alright, hush now. You're safe." He comforted awkwardly.

"You don't…" He began, but then stopped himself. "You are not in need of any potions, are you?"

She gasped. "Oh god no. No, he didn't… He didn't do _that_."

"Of that I am very relieved." Dumbledore spoke again from her right. His face was somber.

"He might've tried, I don't know, but I distracted him, so he stopped."

"In what way?" Severus pursed his lips.

She blushed again. "I may have told him that I'd already been with his son."

"Ah." The headmaster blinked. "Yes, that would do it."

Rosie proceeded to explain what had happened after that. The destruction of the prophecy, running into Sirius, and the events of the chamber up until Dumbledore had arrived.

By the time she had finished, she was a bit calmer, and her grip on Severus' robes had loosened.

When it appeared as though the professor was about to take his leave, Rose stopped him. She glanced up at the potion's master and then summoned her courage.

"Professor, sir. There's something I was hoping to talk to you about, alone, if you can spare the time.

Her guardian looked startled, like her couldn't believe that there would be something that he wouldn't be privy to.

"Yes, absolutely Rose. Severus if you will." The man raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe we could go to your office…" She trailed off.

Understanding flickered in his eyes and he nodded silently, allowing her to approach the fireplace before him.

The professor's office looked different. He'd obviously not gotten a chance to change whatever decorations Umbridge set in place while she'd occupied it.

Rosie sat down immediately, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them, waiting for Dumbledore to take his seat.

"Would I be stretching the limits of my luck to hope that you'd like to have a conversation about my rather impressive collection of magical objects?"

She let out a little laugh. "Just a bit sir."

"In that case, do tell me what seems to be troubling you Rose."

"Um, sir. Voldemort used legilimency on me last night."

"Yes, I am aware. Are you worried that he might have seen something significant?"

"No. I actually wanted to ask about what he did after, because that wasn't the same as legilimency. When he possessed me…That was like nothing I've ever felt before. It was like he _was_ me. He spoke through my mouth like it was his own. Like our souls were… were…"

"Intertwined?" The headmaster finished for her.

"Yeah. Like that." She confirmed lamely.

"Do come right out and ask your question Rose. You can confide in me."

"Sir, what is the nature of my connection with the Dark Lord?"

Dumbledore appeared conflicted.

"Professor, no offense, but don't hide it from me. Whatever it is."

It took a few moments, but finally, the headmaster touched his fingertips together and exhaled in resignation.

"On the night that you survived Lord Voldemort's killing curse, I believe that the remaining pieces of his fractured soul were left to wander without a vessel. Based on your peculiar experiences concerning your scar, and your shared mental connection, I am under the impression that one of those pieces, attached itself to you."

"You're saying that my body is a vessel for Voldemort's soul?" Her tone was surprisingly calm.

"I am not one hundred percent certain. There are still holes to fill and information to gather, but I believe so, yes."

Her mind felt sluggish, and she was a bit slow on the uptake, trying to connect the dots.

"So, if I have some of his soul inside of me, does that mean then, that I'm… keeping him _alive_?"

"That is what I'm afraid of." He replied honestly.

"Neither can live, while the other survives." Rosie repeated. "So, for him to die, I would have to die too."

"Yes."

She stayed quiet for a long time.

"I think I already knew that, in my heart, but I didn't want to think about it."

"Rose, I don't want you to lose hope entirely."

"So that I'll still kill the dark lord, right?" Rosie cut him off, her tone hard.

"No. Because I care very deeply for you, and I know many others who would stop at nothing to free you from this burden."

"You can't tell Severus." She commanded, crossing her arms.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"He would never accept it." Her voice softened. "He wouldn't, and it would be ten times as horrible, and if I'm gonna die, I don't want to see what everyone thinks about that before it happens."

"Rose dear, please know that I will do everything in my power to learn everything I can about your situation. I have not given up hope, and neither should you."

Rosie nodded curtly.

The professor rose from his seat and circled the desk, coming to sit close to her, and extended an arm to wrap around her shoulders.

She'd never been hugged by the headmaster before, but she found herself leaning into his touch. He held her for longer than was typical of a hug, understanding that in this moment, there was a lot running through her mind.

Before she got up to leave, Rose turned to him and straightened her gaze.

"Sir, please promise me that you won't tell Severus. I need to hear you promise."

"I give you my word my dear. Severus will never know."

Back at Grimmauld place, Snape had just finished explaining to he and Remus what Rosie hadn't wanted to tell him, and Sirius was feeling ill.

His face was pale, and his stare was vacant, lost in thought. Remus clapped a hand on his shoulder as Snape disappeared into the kitchen again.

"Padfoot. It wasn't you. Rosie knows that. She knew right from the start that you would never do anything like that to her."

"I just…" He was having trouble forming words. As much as he wanted to believe that, to believe that Rosie knew that, he wasn't so sure.

Sirius knew that things weren't exactly right in his head since Azkaban. He wasn't deluded, but lately he'd been doing things he shouldn't.

There had been the uncomfortable incident over Christmas. God, just the thought of what he'd turned their innocent game of tickling into made him was to crawl under a rock. He'd stopped that all together after that awkward occurrence. Rosie was right anyways; she was too old to be tickled.

But last night… that had been something else. He couldn't explain it. It'd been fueled by a desperate desire to see her safe, to hold her, to know that she was there and his, and alive.

Only she wasn't his.

Even so, to feel Rose connected to him like that had been indescribable. It had been the first time since Azkaban that he'd felt that close to anyone, but that was beside the point. It had been selfish, selfish and wrong.

Rosie was so young, and so impressionable, and what he'd done was unforgivable, and just too close to what his imposter had done to her the very same night, only hours before.

It didn't matter that he loved her with every fiber of his being. It didn't matter that he couldn't envision, didn't want a life, or a future without Rose by his side every day. Their relationship had to stay as it was, for her sake.

He would not kiss her again, not like that anyways.

Sirius needed to find a distraction, and he needed to do it quickly.

Rosie returned to Grimmauld place to find the kitchen empty. Severus must've gone home. It was now around seven in the morning.

It felt as though there was a weight pressing down on her chest, suffocating her. She had to die. She would die, and it would be soon.

Sirius was on the sofa when she got home. He was staring at the blank wall and Rose could tell that he was brooding.

"Hey." She greeted softly.

He snapped out of his daze. "Oh. Hey Rose. You're back."

"Mhm."

The silence was discomfiting.

"Can we talk?" Rosie asked, taking a step closer.

"Gosh, yeah, of course. Of course, we can." He patted the spot beside him on the couch.

She looked around. "Are we alone?"

"Remus is checking on Kingsley."

"Good."

"Listen, sweetheart, if you need to talk about last night… _any_ of what happened last night, you can. You don't have to be embarrassed or ashamed with me."

"No. No Siri, it's not about the ministry…or _after_."

His brows knitted together in confusion. "Then what is it?"

"I've just been to see Dumbledore, and I need to ask you something, something really important."

Sirius nodded for her to continue.

"I need to know if I can trust you."

It was almost comical how fast her ex-godfather reacted. "Precious, you _know_ you can trust me."

"I know but I mean like really trust you." She shook her head. "There might come a time when I need to tell you things…things that you can't tell anyone else; not Moony, not Severus, maybe not even Dumbledore. I need to know if you'll be my secret keeper."

The way she worded the phrase had struck a chord with the man and he seemed to choke up.

"Yeah, I'll be your secret keeper Rosie." He nodded, blinking his eyes suspiciously fast.

"Look, it's not just that. With Severus on the other side of the war, and Moony…well he's with Kingsley and I can't ask him to give that up for me. I need someone to help me defeat Voldemort, no matter what it takes, and I just have to know if you're willing to be by my side through this."

"Hon…"

"Even if you're worried for my safety. Even then. I need to trust that you won't run off and tell someone. Do I have your word Sirius?"

"Hey hey hey. You've got me Rose. Whatever you need, that's what I'll be."

She closed her eyes. "Thank you. That helps."

It really did help.

Severus was still living at Hogwarts, finishing up the last week of classes, which Rosie had once again been excused from. However, she had spent a night with him in his chambers a couple days after the ministry.

"I hope Draco doesn't get in trouble from Lucius." She sighed as he unloaded a helping of peas onto her plate.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you were no longer on speaking terms with the young Malfoy."

"We're not, but that doesn't mean I want to make his life any harder. He's just lashing out because I hurt his feelings."

"How, pray tell, did you do that?"

She shrugged. "He had feelings for me, so I broke off our thing."

"Whatever happens to the Malfoys now Rose has nothing to do with you and entirely to do with their own choices."

Rosie shivered as she thought of Draco's father, crossing her arms over her chest.

Severus watched her do this and cringed. "I am dreading my next interaction with Lucius."

"Isn't he in Azkaban?"

"Indeed, but it is doubtful that he'll stay there for any extended period of time. Either way, Lucius will be punished. The dark lord will not be impressed by his failure. If anything, that is the repercussion that young Draco should be most concerned about, not his illicit liaison with you."

"Can't you try to convince Draco to switch sides sir? For me?"

He glared. "No Rose. I cannot. Now I suggest you drop the subject all together." Severus stated firmly, sitting down beside her at the table to eat his supper.


	109. Chapter 109

**Buckle up readers for a year and a half's worth of love-sick frustration, hurt, anger, rejection, and angst.**

Rosie never did anything conventionally. She had read about the five stages of grief when Cedric had died, Moony had gotten her a book, of course. They'd made sense at the time, but there was something different about losing someone that you loved and coming to the realization that you yourself were going to die.

This time, she had skipped over the first stage: denial.

Perhaps this was because Rose had already been in that stage all year. Now that her fears were confirmed, there didn't seem to be much room for argument.

Instead she'd moved right into anger, and boy was she mad. Obviously, some of the rage was directed inward, upward, at Dumbledore and to fate for allowing this to happen to her. She wondered if she'd even get the chance to turn seventeen. The injustice of it all was eating away at her, but it wasn't only that.

Rosie was mad at everyone, and everything. The headmaster being the only one to know the extent of her position, meant that the rest of her family was bearing the brunt of her mood, but with no context. Sirius had it the worst, as usual. He answered anger with anger, as opposed to Moony who responded with hurt.

It didn't help that she was so bloody confused. The night of the ministry battle, when Siri had kissed her, he'd just looked so conflicted, and so utterly horrified with himself for losing control like that, that she'd let it drop.

A few days later however, and Rosie was completely unsettled by it. The sudden realization that she had romantic feelings for her ex-godfather was one that would not leave her alone, no matter the other, more important things going on in her life.

Reasonably, she knew that even if he did feel something like that for her… _He_ had been the one to kiss _her_ after all, that he would not, could not pursue it. He wouldn't.

Without even touching on the subject of age, Rose was the daughter of his best friend, and she knew that Sirius would never do that to her dad. As far as she could tell, James' memory, Moony, and now Rosie herself were the only constant things in his life. He wouldn't ruin that.

Still, a niggling thought kept popping up in the back of her mind.

 _Maybe in a few years._

Unfortunately, Rosie didn't have a few years, which brought her full circle back into blinding, spitting rage.

Rose knew Sirius, she knew him well, so it was no surprise to her that he had reacted so strongly to their passionate encounter, but the way that he'd chosen to remedy the situation was most unwelcome, especially for a teenage girl who was in the midst of sorting out her feelings.

Hestia Jones had never really crossed her mind before, and Rose honestly believed that she hadn't crossed Siri's either until the latest order meeting. As Moony had said a few weeks ago, Sirius hadn't expressed even an ounce of romantic attraction to anyone before this week.

She knew it was no coincidence.

Hestia was pretty, she'd give her that, but not as pretty as Rosie, who noted this with a grim satisfaction.

Watching her ex-godfather try to ignite some sort of spark with this woman was only antagonizing her further.

She was jealous, and it was painfully obvious.

He'd started by sitting next to her and Tonks as opposed to his usual spot at the end of the table, and by dinner's end, he had one arm draped around the chair where she sat.

Moony was eyeing them curiously, and Rose just buried her face into Severus' shoulder, brooding, and trying to avoid eye contact.

When Sirius threw his head back in a display of false humor, she'd nearly snapped the plastic fork in her hands, and then had gotten up to leave the room.

It wasn't her fault that her stupid dad's best friend was stupid enough to act like he loved her, like she meant something to him, to kiss her and hold her and make her feel safe.

What did he think was going to happen?

Of course, she loved him and craved his affection. This was all James Potter's fault Rosie decided. If her father hadn't died and left her with a jerk Uncle as her only male parental figure, maybe she wouldn't be like this.

Momentarily, she tried to imagine her father's face as she confessed to him her feelings for Sirius Black. Sickened by the thought, Rose squashed it with an irritated hiss, pacing a circle around the sitting room before heading upstairs.

Ginny and Ron, who still hadn't been permitted to join the order, were upstairs in her bedroom waiting.

"The meeting's over?" Her best friend asked curiously.

"Nope. I'm just not into it."

"Not into it? How can you not be into it? This is the war we're talking about." Ron butt in.

"Yes, I'm quite familiar with it. Thanks Ron." She quipped.

"I would've thought that you'd be the one leading the charge." He grumbled back. "We've all heard what they've been saying about you in the papers."

"Ron, shut it." Ginny nudged her brother.

She always knew when Rosie was getting too riled up.

"Well, it's true. If you're really the chosen one…"

"That's a vicious lie." The redheaded girl cut him off.

"It's not." Rose sighed.

Both heads snapped up to look at her.

"What?" Ginny gasped, her expression moving into one of concerned hesitancy.

"I've got to kill him. So, excuse me for not wanting to sit in on every little detail of the fight that every day brings me closer and closer to being forced to do something that I'm not even remotely prepared for!"

"Oh Rose, oh no."

"I don't want pity! I want one free moment where I don't have to think about how bloody awful everything is right now!"

She spun on her heels and slammed the door loudly behind her, stalking down the hall into her godfather's bedroom.

Sulking, Rosie climbed under the covers and pulled the blanket over her head.

Hearing the creak of the door about half an hour later, Rose peered out from the darkness. Kinglsey had his hands resting on Moony's waist and his was leaning in for a kiss, pushing the werewolf back closer to the bed. Her godfather let out an animalistic growl and began to toy with the edges of the auror's shirt.

Rosie cleared her throat, and Moony nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Oh Merlin! Rose, what are you doing in here?" He reacted, face flushing.

Flinging the blankets off herself and crossing her arms, she headed for the door. "Nothing. I'll leave you two alone."

Her tone was bitter.

"No! Rose wait…" Moony called after her.

She turned to look at him, and he shot Kingsley an apologetic glance.

"Stay princess, let's talk."

The auror nodded politely and tapped on the door frame. "Goodnight Remus, Rose." He allowed without even the barest hint of annoyance in his voice.

Moony sat down on the bed and motioned for her to sit with him. When she did, he started to speak.

"Rose, I'm so very sorry that I haven't been paying much attention to you lately. Everything's been so busy with the order, and what happened at the ministry. I guess I kind of left it up to Severus to check in with you."

Rosie just shrugged.

"I know it must've been terrible for you, having Lucius Malfoy pretend to be Sirius… Severus told me what he did to you, and I confess that once again I didn't know how to talk to you about it, so I didn't. Of that I'm ashamed."

"Moony, it's not that. I just… everything's getting very real, and I know that way sooner than I'd like I'm going to have to face him, and I'm not even close to ready." Her breathing was becoming shaky.

"Ah. This is about Voldemort."

"I guess. It's just not fair. I'm just not ready to die." She exhaled softly, looking away.

"Rose Lily Potter! How many times have I told you that I don't like that kind of talk."

She was startled and angry that he'd chastised her.

"I'm so sick of everyone pretending that it's not a very real possibility that _I. Might. Die_!"

Her godfather's face contorted as though she'd just slapped him and when he spoke again it was broken and hesitant.

"Rose. Sweet pea. I know that it's a possibility. God, it keeps me up every night. You have no idea. You are my _child_. You're more important to me than anything else in the world. To think of losing you… it kills me. I wouldn't survive, so I need to believe that you will."

This was too much. Moony had just looked her in the eyes and said that her death would kill him. She couldn`t handle it.

"I can't." Her voice cracked. "Don't follow me. I just need to be alone." Rosie pleaded, standing up and stalking toward the door.

When she looked back, he had his face buried in his hands. Hot needles of guilt pricked her from the inside out, but she didn't look back again.

Rose made it down the stairs and into the hallway before twisting her body around and slamming her fist into the wall as hard as she could.

"Fuck!" She hissed, as she felt the crack of bone, clutching at the injured hand and bringing it in toward her body.

"Woah. What the hell?"

She whipped around to see George staring at her, wide eyed. He must've lingered after the meeting.

Rosie just winced and leaned up against the wall.

The boy approached, his face pulled into a frown and reached for her hand.

"May I?" He asked, examining her fingers and running his wand over her.

Without warning, he cast a spell, and the bone in her ring finger popped back into place.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry." George smiled sheepishly. "Thought it'd be easier if you weren't expecting it."

"Thanks." She breathed, rubbing at her temples.

"What's wrong Rosie? You left the meeting early, then storm down the stairs to punch the wall…"

She shook her head. "Just unbridled teenage angst George. Don't worry about it."

The last thing she needed was another person on her case. "What're you still doing here?"

He grinned mischievously. "Well, I was nicking some of Sirius' firewhiskey actually. Fred and I are having a bit of a school's out party at our new flat." He patted the satchel that hung off his arm.

Her eyes widened. "No way?! Please bring me."

The Weasley boy pulled a face. "Rose… not that I wouldn't appreciate your company, but you're like the highest security order member, and you're underage. Do you remember what Sirius did to Charlie the last time someone snuck you out of here?"

"C'mon George. I'm going stir crazy. I'm trapped here, and god, the pressure is so immense. I feel like I have a weight on my chest all the time. I just wanna have a bit of fun. Besides, I'll be with two order members, no? If all goes well, nobody will even realize I'm gone."

He cringed. "Three order members. Charlie'll be there too."

"Even better." She smirked. "Please George."

He shook his head. "Naw, Rose I can't. I'm sorry. It's too dangerous. I don't want to see you hurt. I may have acted tough at the ministry, but I was shitting myself when you-know-who showed up."

She glared. "Fine. Have fun then."

Leaving George in the entrance hall, Rosie walked into the kitchen, opened her ex-godfather's liquor cupboard, and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey. Then, she grabbed the bag of floo powder from the hearth and stepped into the flames.

"Spinner's End." Rose stated clearly.

The potion's master was presumably asleep, and Rosie had no intention of letting him know she was here. Instead, she sat down on the couch, stared into the flames and took a swig of the firewhiskey straight out of the bottle.

Severus awoke early the next morning, preparing to finish his daily brewing before his meeting with Albus in the afternoon; however, he was shocked and startled to discover that he was not in fact alone in his house.

Rose was asleep on the couch, not in her designated room, and had neglected to warn him that she would be coming over. Upon closer inspection, he realized that clutched in her hand was a bottle of firewhiskey, which appeared to be nearly three fourths empty.

What in Merlin's name had the girl done now?

He knelt down, feeling for a pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief when he encountered one. She was simply unconscious due to her intoxication.

Prying the bottle out of her limp fingers, Severus brought it into the kitchen and then moved into his stores, where he retrieved a hangover cure potion, and a modified pepper up, without the synthetic valerian root.

Slipping his arm under her head like her would an infant, Severus coaxed Rose to sit up, leaning her heavily onto his chest. She let out a whimpering moan, clutching feebly at her head, before it lolled over to the other side.

He forced her mouth open, pouring the hangover potion down her throat and then massaged it lightly. Repeating the action with the pepper up, the potion's master began to tap on her cheeks.

"Rose. Child. Wake up."

She let out another long-suffering groan and then keeled forward, emptying the contents of her stomach onto his rug. He could see the wasted potions melding with her vomit and sighed, pulling her hair back out of her face.

Rose heaved and retched some more, puking once again on his carpet, and then she fell into him, grasping at the lightweight material of his sleep robe.

"S…Severus?"

"Indeed." He replied dryly, wrinkling his nose as the smell of her bile permeated the air.

Grasping for his wand, Severus scourgified the mess, and then moved her into a sitting position on the couch. He propped her up against the back of the sofa and moved to sit across from her.

Rose was blinking rapidly, looking around as if she wasn't sure of her exact location.

"Urgh. What did I do?" She whined, tugging at her hair, which, in that moment was stringy and hung limply around her face.

"It appears that you came to my home, in the middle of the night, equipped with enough firewhiskey to host a death eater meeting, and proceeded to consume it on my couch."

"Right. M'being more respo…responsible. Like you said."

"In which world do you live, where you consider this to be a responsible course of action?"

"Was gonna sneak out and go to a party. Didn't. Came here."

"I see."

"M'not having a good week sir." She mumbled, closing her eyes again.

"That Rose, is abundantly clear."

Severus wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was extremely worried for his charge. He'd tucked her into a makeshift bed on the sofa and prepared to allow her to sleep off the hangover under his supervision.

His first instinct was to assume that Lucius' molestation of her in the Department of Mysteries had brought back unpleasant and painful memories of Lockhart. However, he had an uncomfortable feeling that her recent anger, and lashing out had something to do with her little chat with Albus the morning after the ministry.

Since then, she had been unusually aggressive, taking every opportunity to snap at people who contradicted her. The recent progression of her maturity a seemingly distant memory. Severus did not wish to leave her alone, so instead of brewing, he sat in the sitting room with a book, observing the steady rise and fall of her chest.

Predictably, at around eight thirty in the morning, Lupin burst through the floo, his face one of anxiety.

"Oh, thank Merlin." He exhaled, dropping his hands to his knees.

"Yes. As is typical, your inability to keep track of one teenage girl is astonishing."

"We fought last night, and I thought she'd gone back to her room…"

Severus made a non-committal grunting noise.

"What happened?"

"It is my understanding that Rose relieved Black of his impressive collection of Firewhiskey and brought it here to imbibe herself into unconsciousness whilst I was asleep."

"God. What am I supposed to do Severus?" The wolf ranted. "How am I supposed to stop my goddaughter from hurting herself? What if she becomes an alcoholic? Oh, I knew it was a terrible idea to allow Sirius' drinking to continue like this. She's probably being influenced by him."

"Lupin."

"I shouldn't have been so harsh with her last night." The man berated himself.

"Lupin." Severus interjected again.

"Yes, yes sorry Severus, what were you saying?"

"I do not believe that you have caused this."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, as though he couldn't believe that the potion's master would relieve him of any of the blame.

"I am under the impression that Rose and the headmaster have had a discussion regarding some integral information pertaining to the war effort, and I believe that she has been told not to discuss it."

"That would make a lot of sense." The wolf frowned. "She was going off about dying last night. I think she's really afraid."

"Rose will not die in this fight." Severus stated clearly.

"No, she will not." The other man replied; his tone determined.

"I do believe that while the choice to consume alcohol was a negative one, the decision to come here to do it was not. For that reason, I will not be berating the child for her actions. It is up to you to determine your own course of action."

Lupin pursed his lips and nodded.

Heading back to Grimmauld, Remus was still anxious, but his anxiety was now manifesting as a burning desire to know what it was that Albus had told Rose.

He'd confronted Sirius later that morning, sitting him down and prying for more information. He did not mention the state in which he'd found Rosie. Remus couldn't afford for Sirius to risk upsetting her later.

There was a flicker of recognition in his friend's eyes when he asked about Dumbledore that died almost as soon as it had appeared.

"So, she hasn't mentioned being upset about something that Albus said?" Remus reiterated.

"Not to me." He shook his head.

"You're sure?

"I think I'd remember." Sirius retorted.

"Alright. You'll let me know if she does?"

"Course. You know I'd do anything for her." His face was solemn, but Remus couldn't help but feel that there was a secret the ex-con was purposefully keeping from him.


	110. Chapter 110

**Poll up on my profile for some Rose Potter, Deathly Hallows related content!**

Moony hadn't said anything to Rosie when she returned home later in the afternoon even though she knew he'd been over to Severus' that morning. He was in the midst of cooking dinner, and when she came in through the floo he smiled at her like nothing had ever happened.

"Hey Moony."

"Hi sweetheart. How was your day with Severus?"

"Er…ok I guess." She cringed, remembering vividly the pungent smell of vomit.

Her godfather shot her an understanding little smirk. "Are you feeling better at least?"

Nodding, Rose took her usual seat at the table. "I'm starving actually. Severus is going through a phase where he's only keeping plain chicken and vegetables in the house."

"He's on a diet?" Moony's expression was one of passive amusement.

"No, I don't think it's that. I think he's trying to like, cut out all taste from his life, makes it easier to be emotionally dead inside. Maybe I should try it."

Cringing, her godfather planted a chaste kiss on her head and sighed. "Why anyone thought it was a good idea for Severus Snape to teach you stress- coping mechanisms, I do not know."

Rosie scoffed. "Like you're much better, Mr. Cut off everyone in my life and spiral into a soul crushing depression."

"Touché." He raised an eyebrow. "Anyways princess, I thought maybe we could have dinner together tonight, just the two of us."

"Where's Sirius?" She asked immediately, a little knot forming in her belly.

"He's out for the evening love."

The knot tightened, but Rosie refused to make her feelings known. The worst possible thing that could happen would be for Moony to pick up on her blatant jealousy.

Instead, she smiled. "That sounds nice."

They started into more benign topics, but the conversation quickly came around to Kingsley.

"Moony, do you love him?"

Her godfather choked on his pumpkin juice.

"Why do you ask?" His voice was tight.

Rosie shrugged. "I don't know, just curious. I could see that you didn't want him to leave last night."

"Rose, darling. Kingsley understands that you come first. He hasn't got a problem with it."

"I know. I just don't want you to hold back because of me or anything. If you love him and you want him to… _er_ , live with us, or marry him or something…Wait, _can men marry each other?_ "

His eyes widened.

"I want you to be happy."

"Woah, slow down princess. There will be no moving in together, or marriage, or anything of that nature. Neither Kingsley nor I are ready for that kind of commitment, especially in the midst of a war."

"But isn't that when you should be doing it? She interrupted.

"Rosie, Relax." Moony soothed, sensing her heightened emotional state.

"Moony."

"No. Hush darling. Just relax. C'mere." He held out a hand and pulled her round the table towards him.

Then, with a flick of his wand, her godfather turned on the gramophone, and a soft tune started to play.

Typical Remus.

With their dinners abandoned, Moony led her around the living room, his eyes closed and his face peaceful. He hummed along to the music, spinning her around, and then dipping her down in his arms, eliciting a soft giggle from her.

"That's better."

"Rosie rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed back and forth."

"You know, I danced with your mother once, at the Christmas ball in our fifth year. She was so upset, because your father had spelled her date's hair blue… and to stop her from running over to hex James, I pulled her aside and asked her to dance."

"Ha. What a good friend you were. Dad and Sirius were terrible influences."

"No love, they were just bolder. It was I who designed and created the majority of that little map of yours." He chuckled in her ear.

Her mouth dropped open and she hit his chest lightly. "You didn't?! Oh, my goodness Moony!"

"What, you didn't think your passive, law-abiding godfather knew anything about being mischievous? Sweetheart, trust me, I know more than you think."

"Hmm. Like what?"

"Well, I know that you're angry because you're keeping secrets, and I know you've told Sirius."

"He fucking told you?" She reacted, her hands clenching in his robes.

Moony smirked. "No love. He didn't say a word, but I've known Sirius long enough to know when he's lying to me."

Rosie sighed in resignation. "He's my secret keeper."

Her godfather stopped dancing. "You're using the fidelius charm?"

"No. Not literally. He's just…the person I chose to help me in this."

"In defeating Lord Voldemort?"

She nodded.

He exhaled low. "I see." He was a good actor, but she could see the hurt behind his eyes.

"Moony, it couldn't've been you. I knew that after what happened at the ministry."

"Why not Rose? You know that I would do anything and everything to keep you safe."

"That's exactly why." She replied softly. "When things got scary, Sirius let me fight with him. He put his fear for me aside so that we could work as a team, and when I cut off Nott's hand, he laughed. He just laughed. There's going to be time when I need someone who won't try to protect me from everything, someone who let's me do what needs to be done, and who just laughs it off after."

"I could learn sweetheart. I could try."

"It wouldn't work Moony. That's not what dads do."

He seemed torn between making a fuss and tearing up.

Sweeping her into a tender hug, he brought his lips down to her ear and whispered,

"How would you know what dads do?" The werewolf's voice was scratchy with emotion.

"I've had some pretty good teachers." She smiled into his neck.

Rosie didn't want to seem like she was waiting up for Sirius, but she was, so when Moony went to bed, she slipped into her pajamas and brought some of her summer homework downstairs to the sitting room.

She didn't bring potions or history of magic, quite content with the idea that she would not be taking those subjects to the NEWT level.

Taking out the two-foot essay that Professor McGonagall set on human transfiguration, Rose hummed and hawed over it for about half an hour before she heard the front door creak open.

Siri came into the sitting room, obviously distracted, and bypassed her heading into the kitchen. She could hear the clink of the bottle against glass, and then the sound of him twist the lid back on, before he came back into where Rosie sat.

She coughed, and Sirius jumped, spilling his drink onto his hand.

"Bloody fucking…Rose! Shit, I'm sorry." He fumbled, trying to mop up what had spilled.

"Hey Siri." She feigned concentration.

"Hey you." He grinned back, trying to sneak a peek at her homework. "What're you doing?"

"Just homework. How was your night?" Rosie asked casually.

He winced, and then faltered. "Um. It was okay, yes. Fine. It was fine."

"Where were you anyways?"

Now Sirius was looking away from her, his gaze fixed determinedly at a spot on the wall to her left.

"I was just out, with some of the order members."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Er, _one_ of the order members." He corrected; his tone awkward.

"Hestia?" She questioned.

"Yup. Hey, is this human transfiguration? What's the essay topic?" Siri scrambled to change the conversation.

Deciding to cut him a break, she let the subject of his night out drop. "It's about changing your hair color, but I'm pretty stuck on it. I don't really understand how it's different for an animagus. How do you just automatically change into a dog?"

Siri let out a barking laugh. "Well I definitely didn't used to do it automatically. It took a long time to develop it into something habitual. You have to practice transfiguring every part of you before you can try to do it all at once."

"So, can you just transfigure like, your arm or something?"

He screwed up his face in concentration, and then suddenly, his ears were replaced with Padfoot's.

"It's a lot harder to do just one bit now that I've been doing the whole thing for years, but still possible." Sirius explained, popping his ears back to normal.

"Did you ever get stuck as a dog, or like, with a tail or something?"

"Oh yeah. My problem was always the hair though. There was a solid month in fifth year that I just had a really hairy back."

Rosie couldn't stop herself from letting out an amused giggle.

"If you think that's bad… your dad…Actually, maybe I shouldn't tell you about what he did."

"Siriuuusss." She whined. "Please tell me."

"Sorry Prongs." He smirked, looking briefly up to the ceiling.

"Well, James always had a bit of trouble thinking about a certain part of his anatomy for too long, and a couple times, his _Little James_ , got stuck as a stag's…"

Her mouth dropped open. "You're kidding?!"

"I wouldn't lie to you precious. He was so embarrassed, hid in the dorm until he could figure out how to change it back. Peter and I never really had that problem, but your dad was a bit of a gentleman, kind of like Remus in that sense.

Sirius stayed up helping her with her essay until nearly one in the morning. Rosie hadn't intended on actually doing it, but her ex-godfather just seemed so enthusiastic about it that she couldn't up and go to bed on him.

When it was finally time for bed, Sirius walked her upstairs and paused outside her door, opening and closing his mouth, apparently looking for something to say.

"Rose, if you're uncomfortable with me um, going out, dating, whatever you wanna call it; I don't have to… I just thought…"

Oh, Rosie was so tempted to say yes, to wrap her arms around him and say that yes it upset her, and no she didn't want him to, but then she had a terrible thought.

Maybe this was fate's way of punishing her for being a horrible person. Perhaps she was going to die because she hadn't been living well. What if destiny was taking a tally of her flaws and using it to decide whether or not the piece of Voldemort's soul inside her would be fatal?

Merlin, on top of being selfish, spiteful, and angry, she was actually considering manipulating her ex-godfather, who had already suffered so much in his life, for her own personal gain.

The hat was right about her.

So, instead of acting on her petty jealousies, she closed her mouth and shook her head.

"No Siri. I want you to be happy. Do whatever you need to be happy."

"I am happy Prongslet."

She smirked back at him. "Moony's right. You really are a horrible liar."

For the next undefinable stretch of time, Rosie tried her best to be a better person. She tried to squash the anger, the pain, and the rage in favor of this new, feigned acceptance.

Most of it was fake, but some of it was real. She honestly didn't want her family to remember how awful she could be when she was gone, but a part of her, a very deep, vulnerable part of her thought that just maybe, if she turned her attitude around enough, that Rose might be given another chance.

Maybe the headmaster would find a way to get the piece of soul out of her without dying. Perhaps he was working on it in that exact moment.

Rosie had been in Severus' lab, helping him to cut up the ingredients for a large supply of Polyjuice for the order when he'd disappeared to answer the floo. When he'd returned, it was with a raised eyebrow.

"Black is inquiring if you will be returning home for dinner. If so, he would also like me to beg you to please cook dinner, as he had invited a guest and did not realize that your godfather had taken ill from the effects of the upcoming full moon."

Burying the immediate, sarcastic retort, Rose let out a high-pitched little laugh. "Tell him I'll be home at four."

Severus disappeared again, and then came back, his expression one of mild curiosity.

"The mutt is entertaining company?"

Rosie coughed, looking down at the ingredients, and nodded. "Yup, Hestia Jones."

"I see, and you are coping well with this change?"

She bristled and then nodded again. "Doesn't really matter what I think as long as he's happy." Rose couldn't lie to Severus.

"Have you spoken with Black? Perhaps asked him to maintain his private affairs outside of the home?"

"No, Severus, if he had any idea that I was upset in the slightest by this he would drop it all together…and I'm trying to be a better person. I don't want him to be miserable because of me. Please don't mention it."

"As you wish Rose. Though, as you are undoubtedly aware, if at any time this new experiment in attitude becomes too much, you are welcome to spend more time here."

"Aw, do you miss me sir?"

"It is always a nice change to have another person around."

"Hmm. Do I need to be fake nice to your girlfriend now too?" Rosie glared.

Severus sputtered and his cheeks tinged pink. "That will not be necessary child."

"Ha. I know. _You're_ not allowed to date." She dropped her face into a serious scowl.

Moony was already trying to cook when Rose arrived at Grimmauld, and she immediately shooed him away to the couch.

"Don't even try. I already said I'd do it." Rosie chided him.

"I hope you don't mind sweet pea, I invited Kingsley over as well. I thought it might break some of the tension. Sirius is more nervous than I've ever seen him before a date. I think your opinion matters a lot to him."

She shrugged. "What were you gonna make?"

"I was thinking we could use those steaks that Padfoot likes, and some rice and veggies?"

"Rosie doesn't even like steak." Sirius interrupted, coming into the kitchen.

"Siri it's not my night. Does Hestia like steak?"

"Er. I think so…"

Kingsley arrived earlier than Hestia, and when he walked into the kitchen behind Moony, Rosie felt a sudden rush of affection for the man. He really was the best possible outcome for her godfather.

"Hey Kingsley." She greeted, moving forward to give him a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek.

The auror accepted her and she knew that he'd shot Moony a sly grin over her shoulder.

The food was nearly done by the time that Hestia arrived. Sirius had gone to answer the door, and when he led her back into where they were, she smiled awkwardly and waved. "Hey guys."

Moony stepped forward, "Welcome Hestia. Have a seat, we're just about ready to eat. Rosie's got everything prepared."

She pulled her face into a tight smile and headed over to the stove, where she began to serve plates, levitating them over to Kingsley, Moony, whose steak was nearly raw for this time of the month, Sirius, and finally Hestia, who made a barely concealed face of displeasure.

The woman touched Siri's arm and turned to him. "Didn't I tell you that I'm a vegetarian?"

"Oh Sirius! Really?" Rose admonished. "Hestia, I'm sorry, I could make you something else." She pandered, being purposefully accommodating.

"No. Oh no, it's fine. I'm good with rice and veggies." She reassured, pushing the piece of steak onto Sirius' plate.

They settled in to eat, and the silence descended upon them.

"I was very impressed by how far you've come in the way of defense Rose." Kingsley remarked. "You really put up a fight at the ministry the other night."

"Thanks." Rosie smiled. "I was taught by the best."

"I wasn't really sure how you ended up at the ministry in the first place actually." Hestia commented, her tone innocent.

"Er, I got kidnapped by Lucius Malfoy polyjuiced as Sirius."

"As Sirius? I wonder why they chose him."

"Ah. I think the aim was to go for someone that Rose trusted enough to follow without too many questions." Kingsley added helpfully.

"Oh, I would've thought that maybe it would've been you then Remus. You are her godfather, right?"

"Yeah, Remus is my godfather." Rose confirmed, biting her lip.

"Actually Hestia, that wouldn't've been possible. You can't use polyjuice with a werewolf." He informed her calmly.

"I didn't know that." Rosie smiled, patting Moony's hand.

"Yes, something about the canine incisors and animalistic tendencies." Kingsley raised his eyebrows suggestively.

She burst out laughing as Moony flushed red, groaning, and covering his hands with his face.

"Hmm. Is that true for animaguses as well?" Hestia quipped, and Rosie nearly lost her dinner.

"Well, it's good that Malfoy didn't hurt you in any case." She shrugged.

"Yeah." Rosie stiffened.

Sirius turned immediately to look at her, shooting Rose an apologetic glance.

He looked just about as uncomfortable as she felt.

"So, Rose, do you have a special someone in your life?" The woman asked then, apparently noticing her status as fifth wheel.

She tried really hard not to cringe. "Ah. No, not at the moment. I was seeing Cedric Diggory, but…"

"Oh, yes that was very tragic." Hestia sighed offhandedly. "Strange to think that it was almost a year ago."

"The anniversary was three weeks ago actually." She muttered.

"You didn't say anything." Sirius frowned.

"Didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

The table descended into another painful silence.

Somebody brought up quidditch, which, luckily took them to the end of the awkward supper, and finally, when it was time for Hestia and Kingsley to take their leave, they did. Though, while she was cleaning up, Rosie heard the definite sounds of a kiss goodnight that set her teeth on edge.

Later on, Sirius had poked his head into her room as she was tucking herself into bed.

"Hey Prongslet. I hope you weren't upset at dinner. I should've asked before inviting her over. It's just so important to me that you get along with anyone I might be seeing."

"All good Siri." She smiled. "I'm fine."

"Okay, well if you need anything, let me know."

Rose nodded, and then picked up her wand and cast a patronus in his direction. The silvery bat nudged him to follow as it took off down the hall.

"Thanks, love. You're the best."

Lying in bed, Rosie finally dared to take down her occlumency shields for the first time that day. The emotions overwhelmed her, washing over her like a tidal wave of unadulterated angst. She just wanted everything to be okay. She wanted to live, and she wanted to be loved, and everything was just so uncertain.

Rose prayed that her efforts to make everyone happy would not go unnoticed. She could wait a few more years for what she wanted if it meant that she could have the years to wait.


	111. Chapter 111

**Don't forget to answer the poll on my profile! I'd also like to remind you all of my content error from ages ago, where I accidently made Cedric Head Boy in his sixth year. That is now canon for this story. Head boy and Girl starts in 6** **th** **year.**

Severus had been indisposed for a few days, meaning that Rosie had been stuck at Grimmauld place for far too long. Moony and Sirius came and went as they pleased, but now, unlike last summer, there was a large target over Rose's head…a target that was now public.

It was too dangerous for her to leave.

Noticing her frustration, Moony had suggested to Dumbledore that she be allowed to spend a few days at the burrow for a change of pace. The headmaster, who was obviously feeling guilty for burdening her with the knowledge of her impending death, agreed, and had made a trip to cast some new protective charms over the house.

Sirius must have felt that the dinner with Hestia hadn't gone very well, so he'd been keeping their interactions separate, and hadn't brought her over again. For this, Rose was thankful. Instead, he would spend the odd couple hours away from home, returning afterwards with that same awkward and guilty expression that'd he'd donned the first night.

Suffice to say, three days at the burrow seemed like heaven. The last time she'd seen Ron and Ginny, she'd yelled at them. They hadn't come to the next order meeting, but Rosie was pretty sure that they'd be fine now. Ginny at least was used to her foul temper.

Another major contributing factor to her desire to stay at the Weasleys was that Charlie was still there. The older boy seemed to be the Weasley with the loosest morals, and despite everything that his own father and Sirius had said to him, she knew that when provoked, he still wouldn't refuse her.

Moony had been extra tired from the last full moon, so Rosie neglected to wake him the morning of her departure, and only woke him briefly in the afternoon as she was leaving. Siri was still in bed, and when she knocked on his door, he had rolled over and shot her a small half smile, wishing her a fun time.

It was one of his bad days she guessed.

Arthur Weasley had come to Grimmauld to get her, and when she descended the stairs he was grinning. The poor man didn't usually know what to say to Rose, so he just smiled and nodded every time she spoke.

Rosie thought that perhaps it was hard to associate who he knew that she was with the fact that she was his baby daughter's best friend. It probably made him uncomfortable to think about Ginny acting the way that Rose did.

"Hi Mr. Weasley."

"Hi there Rose. Is Remus here?"

"Yeah, but he's asleep. He's been really tired since his last transformation."

"Oh, well that's alright. What about Sirius?"

"Mm. He's asleep too. Siri isn't feeling well today either."

Arthur pulled a face. "Do your guardians typically leave you to your own devices?"

She shrugged. "Well Severus is usually too busy being a death eater to make breakfast in the mornings, and when Moony's tired, he's tired. Sirius isn't my guardian. He's under no obligation to do stuff for me."

"I see. Well, in any case, I just wanted to let Remus know that I was taking you and that I'd have you back by Friday afternoon."

"It's alright sir, Remus already knows."

"Well, if you're sure then." He motioned for her to follow him to the door. They'd be apparating, because the burrow was no longer connected to the floo. They only opened it up for order meetings now. The only places that were privately connected all the time were Hogwarts, and Spinner's end.

Upon arriving at the burrow, Molly came out to greet her, giving her a hug and a kiss. Rosie had been worried that after Sirius' outburst over the holidays that Mrs. Weasley would be upset with her, or treat her differently, but luckily that wasn't the case. Rose got off almost scot-free and the older couple seemed to view their son as the bad influence, as usual, placing her into the victim category.

It was frustrating to be thought of as a victim all the time, but also useful. She really should've been a Slytherin.

Ginny was the first person to greet her, coming down the stairs and wrapping her in a sincere hug.

"I hope you're less grumpy now." The girl muttered and she chuckled.

"A bit. I just need a break from my trio of body guards."

Before Gin could give a proper response, there was a shriek from the door to the sitting room, and Rose turned abruptly to look.

Someone without red hair came flying at her, enveloping her in a hug.

"Rose! Eet is so wonderful to zee 'ou!"

"Fleur?! What in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

The blonde girl pulled back grinning. "Zis eez my 'ome for zee next few weeks! Bill wanted me to get to know heez family, and practice my eenglish!"

Bill?

Suddenly, Rosie understood why Ginny was shooting the French girl a death glare. Mrs. Weasley wasn't smiling either.

"Fleur and I got pretty close during the Triwizard Tournament." Rose explained.

"Yes, Fleur's been excited to see you for days now, can't stop talking about what a great person you are." Bill commented, walking into the room with Charlie behind him.

"Why thank you." She gave a little bow of appreciation, a blush spreading over her cheeks.

Feeling sympathy for her best friend, who had her arms crossing tersely, Rosie moved over to where the redhead stood and threw an arm over her shoulders.

Later, when it was just the two of them, she interrogated her.

"I thought you liked Fleur. You got along better than she and Hermione did when we went dress shopping."

"Yeah well." Ginny scowled. "That was before she started seeing Bill."

"Look, I get it, but she's really sweet. I know she comes off as a bit fake, but that's honestly just who she is. At first, we didn't get along because she was so vain, but then she warmed up to me."

"I know you like her Rose, but just let me be mad about it, yeah?"

"Yes ma'am." She replied, and then poked Ginny, who responded by throwing a pillow at her face.

Rose responded with a pillow to the stomach, and soon the girls were laughing and hitting each other with pillows, rolling around like idiots.

They were interrupted by a loud, "Crack!" as the twins appeared together, apparating into the room one on top of the other.

"Evening ladies. Hate to break up the fun, but Ron's moaning around downstairs. Something about Rose only coming to see Ginny."

"Not just Ginny." She smirked, and Fred gagged. George shot her an exasperated glare.

"Why do all my girlfriends sleep with my brothers!?" Ginny growled as they came out of the bedroom together.

Mr. Weasley had been walking by, and apparently, had heard Ginny because they caught him in the middle of a cringe.

"I think the more accurate question, sweetheart, is why do your brothers feel the need to sleep with your friends?" He sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders just as Charlie came out of his room.

The burrow was entirely too small.

Dinner that evening was a loud and raucous affair. It was quite a nice change from Grimmauld place, and Rosie didn't have to cook anything. Sometimes she thought it would be nice to have a big family, but then she watched Ron and Fred argue over the last kidney pie, and noticed George death stare Charlie for the entire meal and realized that she was thankful to be an only child.

It also meant that there were fewer people to miss her when she died.

Lately, everything seemed to come back to that. It didn't matter how much fun she had, or whether the Weasleys judged or accepted her, because soon enough they'd be mourning her.

Rosie sometimes wondered what would've happened if Dumbledore had been able to corner Lord Voldemort and throw him through the veil at the department of mysteries. She wondered if the headmaster would've killed her himself afterwards, or had someone else do it. Afterall, if she was tethering the dark lord's soul to the earth, then even if the snakelike creature did die, he wouldn't ever truly be dead.

That was the really frightening part about all of this. She didn't know when it would happen. It could be weeks, months, years. Then what was Rose supposed to do? Kill him and then kill herself?

She tried to picture Moony's face as she explained that he could keep celebrating the downfall of the dark lord, but that she'd have to die now too.

That put a damper on dinner.

Staring off into the corner of the kitchen, it was Fleur who nudged her back into reality.

"What do 'ou think Rose?"

"Sorry what?" Rosie shook her head, coming out of her head.

"I was thinking zat maybe tomorrow we can 'ave a girls' night. We can invite 'Ermione to come, and do eet properly. What do 'ou say?"

"That sounds really nice Fleur." She smiled, and nudged Ginny beside her. "Doesn't that sound nice Gin?"

Her friend raised an eyebrow. "Yes, let's add another of my brothers' girlfriends."

Mr. Weasley coughed.

"Ginny! You don't mean that!" Ron pushed. "You and Mione get along great!"

"I'm only joking." Ginny spat, her face caught between a laugh and a sneer.

"I love you." Rosie leaned her head on the redhead's shoulder.

The girl patted her hair. "You know I love you Rose."

Hermione did come the next day around noon. She'd brought her parents for tea, who Rosie had never met before.

Daniel and Jean Granger were very sweet, and Arthur was totally enraptured by them.

When it came to children, only Rosie, Ginny, Mione, and Ron stayed to eat with them, not wanting to overwhelm the muggle couple. Ron seemed to be pretty nervous. He had the unfortunate position of being stuck right next to Hermione's father, who was giving him long, searching looks, quite like the ones that Moony used to give Ced.

"Are you all happy to be off school?" Jean smiled from the end of the table.

"Definitely." Rosie answered almost in unison with Ron.

Mione rolled her eyes. "Those two don't like going to class much." She glared playfully.

"You like playing hooky, eh?" Daniel nudged Ron who turned red.

"Well, Ronnie did make prefect last year." Molly interjected.

"A prefect, so you're the two prefects for Gryffindor then?" Jean questioned then.

Mione nodded an affirmative.

"Is it like regular boarding school then? Do prefects make head boy and girl?"

"Not always." Rosie cut in. "My dad was the head boy, but he was never a prefect, but my mom was head girl and she was a prefect. I think it's just whatever Dumbledore decides."

"What do your parents do Rose?" Daniel questioned.

She stilled. Rose had never been asked that before, and it almost made her want to laugh. Hermione's eyes widened.

"Dad!" She hissed.

"Er, my parents are both dead, but my Godfather used to teach defense, and now he works in a muggle supermarket, and my other guardian is the potion's professor at Hogwarts."

The Grangers exchanged an uncomfortable look. "I'm sorry dear, I suppose we forgot that you were _that_ Rose."

She smirked. "It's okay, honest. That was actually kind of refreshing."

"So, your guardian is a professor? You must do quite well in his class." Daniel changed the subject.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I failed his class last year. He's a really horrible teacher."

"That's true." Ron confirmed. "He's a huge git."

Mione snorted. "He could be nicer."

Jane smiled. "And your Godfather, does he enjoy the regular world?"

"Not really no, but he's a werewolf, so it's kinda hard for him to find a job in the magical world."

"A werewolf?" Hermione, you've never mentioned werewolves before. Her father looked horrified.

"Werewolves are only dangerous on the night of the full moon." Arthur supplied. "Remus is perfectly safe to be around every other evening."

"Well, I say. I'm starting to worry about this Hogwarts." Jean frowned. "Werewolves, possessions, sexual abuse of students, dark lords."

Now the whole table was quiet, and Hermione had her head in her hands.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Ginny spoke then. "Hi, I'm possessed, and this is molested." She pointed to Rosie who let out a laugh.

"Ginevra Molly!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"We make a great pair." Rosie continued.

"Oh god, I've put my foot in my mouth again." The woman fretted.

"It's fine Mrs. Granger." Gin reassured. "Mione obviously didn't want to blow our cover. That was sweet."

"Yeah, Hermione's awesome." Ron grinned. "She's a shoe in for head girl next year."

The conversation went up from that point on, and the Grangers seemed to relax once they began to describe some of the more interesting potions and spells that they'd learned. They were especially attentive when they mentioned teeth cleaning charms, because they were both dentists.

Rosie had never been to a dentist even once in her life. The Dursleys hadn't taken her, and then by the time she'd gotten a new guardian, she'd been taught about teeth cleaning charms.

That evening, all the boys had cleared out and gone upstairs so that Rose, Ginny, Mione, and Fleur could take the sitting room for their girls' night.

It was like one of those muggle sleepover movies. There was food, and face masks, and tons of gossip. Rosie was glad that she got the chance to participate in one.

Ginny had still been acting squeamish, but she started to open up a bit more when Rosie began asking about Dean.

"I just don't really like when he does _that_." She confessed, flushing.

"Zen 'e is doing eet wrong my dear." Fleur remarked braiding the girl's thick hair back.

Rosie, who was working on Hermione's chimed in. "Some guys aren't good at it. They need to be taught."

"I like it." The bushy haired girl nodded.

"See, you've just got to tell him how to do it." Rose finished.

"I don't know if I even want to stay with him to be honest." She sighed.

"What 'as he done? Eef I remember correctly 'e is very 'andsome, no?"

"Yeah, he's attractive, but he's been getting really weird lately about me being better at quidditch than he is, and he just wants to be around me all the time, even in the summer."

"Ah, 'ou 'ave a clingy one."

"I wouldn't put up with that Ginny. You should have time to do your own things too. We're only young once." Hermione advised. "Dean's a nice guy, but I have noticed that he spends an awful lot of time following you around."

"Just let me know what you decide before school starts again so I can find someone else to sit with." Rosie stuck her tongue out. She usually sat with Dean, Ron, and Mione in classes, but Dean most often.

"Thanks Rose, you're so supportive." Ginny rolled her eyes.

It wasn't until the last night of her stay with the Weasleys that Rosie decided to push the boundaries and sneak into the room that Charlie was sharing with Ron. The first night, Molly had come in to check that she hadn't gone off, but after that, she seemed to trust her.

Knocking lightly on the door, Rose stepped into the room and found Ron reading a magazine and Charlie polishing his broom. His literal broom, though she'd've liked the other one better.

Ron groaned. "Really Rose?"

Charlie smirked and his eyes lit up just a bit. "Out baby brother." He commanded, throwing the polish brush at Ron.

"Rose is younger than me." He growled, getting up to leave, and shooting her an irritated glance.

The second oldest Weasley knew exactly why Rose was there, and neither of them danced around it. She had been waiting too long to release the tension and stress that she'd built up over the past few weeks, and Severus' advice be damned, doing it herself just wasn't as nice.

The boy cast a locking and silencing charm on the door, and then cast the contraceptive.

"I really don't want to forget that one again." He teased, smirking.

Charlie then proceeded to do exactly what Fleur and the other girls had been discussing the previous evening, and Rose judged there to be no issue with his technique.

By the time they had finished, Charlie had scratch marks all over his back, and Rose had a string of hickeys covering her breasts.

Thoroughly debauched, but satiated, Rosie pulled her shirt and shorts back on, make a quick stop in the loo, and then headed back to the bedroom that she shared with the girls.

Ron and Ginny were sitting on her bed, with Hermione looking comfortable on the floor with a book in her lap. They all looked up when she came in and each one of them expressed their distaste for her actions with a completely unique facial expression.

Mione, who cared the least, simply sniffed and shook her head.

Ron bet down to give his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek before wrinkling his nose, rolling his eyes, and stalking back to his bedroom.

When Rosie arrived home the next day from the Weasleys, she had gone immediately upstairs to shower and change. In the middle of redressing, Sirius, who wasn't normally up at this time, poked his head into the room while she was still in her bra and shorts.

"Morning precious…Oh god!" He startled, covering his eyes and turning away as fast as he possibly could.

"Siri, it's called knocking!"

"I'm sorry love. I'm sorry. You're covered in hickies." He moaned. "Why are you covered in hickies?"

Pulling on a shirt, she came out into the hall where Sirius still stood. Before he had a chance to stop her, Rosie had taken the collar of his shirt and pulled it down a few inches, revealing a large bruise forming on his own chest.

She raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed again, looking away.

"Hypocrisy doesn't look good on you Siri."

"Hey!" He reached out and caught her hand as she was leaving. "I'm sorry. Don't be mad, kay?"

"I'm not mad Sirius." Rosie conceded, grabbing onto his arm and leading him down the stairs with her.

Perhaps they could surprise Moony with breakfast that morning.


	112. Chapter 112

Sirius groaned, coming down from his high and resting his face in the crook of Hestia's neck as his breathing slowed. Her nipples were peaked and hard against his skin, and her long dark hair tickled the stubble on his face. Short hair, he reminded himself with a sigh. Hestia had short, dark hair.

Opening his eyes, Sirius slid out of her and rolled onto his back.

"I wish you wouldn't close your eyes the whole time." Hestia commented, pulling a shirt over her head, and sliding her lacy knickers back into place.

"Sorry, just habit." He replied guiltily, because it was a lie.

He had never been one to close his eyes during sex. Usually, he liked to watch, but lately, it was all he could do to stay in the mood long enough to finish the job. More concentration was required now, which meant that his eyes stayed closed.

Sirius wasn't sure if it had something to do with ageing, Azkaban, or if it was the result of something much more inappropriate that he preferred not to think about, but it was starting to put him off.

Rubbing his temples, he felt like there was something he ought've remembered to do this morning, something important, but he couldn't quite place it. Hestia got up from the bed and began to get herself ready for the day. He watched as she dressed, and did her hair, and then when she was done, she beckoned for him to follow her down the stairs.

"So, I thought maybe we could go into the alley today, have a late lunch. What do you think?" She suggested lightly.

Sirius, who hadn't been paying attention, nodded. "Sure, sounds good." He said, still trying to remember what he was forgetting.

It didn't come to him until they were halfway through two bowls of cereal and a stifled conversation about the weather.

"Can you believe that tomorrow's the first day of August already?" Hestia mentioned, and Sirius froze.

His face flushed and his hands clenched into fists. "Fuck. Fuck, shit. Oh Merlin, she's gonna kill me." He fretted, standing up to pace a circle around the kitchen.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" She blinked in confusion.

"Oh god, it's Rosie. It's her birthday, and I said we'd all have breakfast together on her birthday. She's gonna be so mad. I have to go, I'm sorry."

Sirius made for the door, when Hestia caught his arm from behind. "Wait, hey, relax. Isn't she like fourteen? I'm sure she's fine with Remus. You said we could go to the alley."

"She's sixteen." He snapped, pulling his hand away. "I have to go Hestia. We can go a different day." It was already eleven. They'd've been up for hours by now.

The woman pouted. "Can I come at least? I don't have anything else to do today."

Sirius cringed. At that point he was desperate to get home, and irritated with himself for forgetting, so he nodded sharply. "Yeah, fine. Just, let's go." He insisted.

They apparated to the front step of Grimmauld place and he burst into the house, moving quickly into the kitchen with Hestia trailing behind. He'd arrived just in time to see Rosie collapse with laughter, pushing Kingsley's shoulder playfully and sticking her tongue out at Snape. Remus' head snapped up when he entered and his expression hardened.

Sirius was in trouble. Moony would never call him out in public, but he knew that later they would exchange words. Rose had stilled when he and Hestia had walked in, and then she sighed, pulling her face into a smile.

"Hi guys. Sit. There's lots of food, not vegetarian I'm afraid Hestia, sorry."

"We've already eaten." Hestia stated factually.

"Oh okay." Rosie blinked.

"I'm still hungry." Sirius corrected, sitting down and loading a plate full of sausage and eggs. "Happy birthday precious."

"Thanks." She responded quietly, glancing up at Snape, who was giving Sirius a death glare.

When Sirius ran upstairs to fetch Rose's gift, Remus followed. The werewolf cornered him in his bedroom with a scowl.

"What is wrong with you?" He hissed.

Sirius rubbed his eyes.

"We waited hours for you. Rosie didn't say so, but I know she was really upset. She insisted that we wait."

"I know. God, I'm really sorry. I totally forgot and I…"

"You forgot? You forgot it was Rose's birthday? How could you do that? You know, I really thought that you'd changed Sirius, but here you are again. Something more interesting's come along and you abandon your responsibilities."

Rosie sat downstairs with Kingsley, Severus, and Hestia listening to the escalating fight upstairs.

"…nothing more important to me than Rose! You know that!"

"Well you sure aren't…"

Moony hadn't ever yelled at her like this, apparently it was Sirius-specific-behavior.

"I already…sorry!"

Hestia rolled her eyes. "You're not upset, right Rose?"

Rosie frowned, but in an effort to keep the peace, she agreed. "No, no. It's fine."

Severus squeezed her shoulder.

The tension was unbearable. Honestly, Rosie wished that Sirius had just stayed away, but she would never say that to him. She was trying so hard to be the better person, trying to change her attitudes and alter her thought processes, but it was really hard.

Lately, she'd had her occlumency shields up so often that her mind resembled the second half of her second year.

The two men came downstairs bearing gifts several minutes later, their expressions falsely enthusiastic and she felt like a child. She wanted to go back to Severus' and watch him brew for the rest of the day, but she knew that Moony would be heartbroken. Rose didn't want to cause another fight between he and Sirius either.

Kingsley had gotten her a sneakoscope, which he explained was a device that would light up and spin like a top if someone was doing something untrustworthy nearby.

Feeling affectionate toward the man who had shown up right on time to her birthday breakfast, Rosie leaned forward and wrapped the handsome auror in a hug. Moony smiled a real smile this time, delighted to see them bonding.

Kingsley patted her back and grinned. "I'm glad you like it. You should keep it by your bed."

"I will." She promised, putting it down on the table.

Sirius went next, handing her a package and looking up expectantly. She took it, and slowly undid the wrapping. Inside was a little velvet box, and behind it was a photo. It was a ring. The ring was delicate, but in the center, it held a crest, one that was familiar, but that she couldn't quite place.

Rosie looked at him.

"It's the Potter crest. I had it made to go with your locket." He said softly.

She inhaled sharply. "Oh Sirius."

He wasn't typically one for sentimental gifts, often preferring a bigger spectacle.

"There's one other thing." He motioned toward the original box. Underneath the ring sat a photograph.

She took it out. It was a magical one of she and her parents. Rose was in James' arms, and both he and her mom were smiling widely by the door of a small house.

"It's their place in Godric's Hollow." Moony filled in, looking over her shoulder.

"I cleared permission with Dumbledore to take you next week if you still want to."

Rose was just about to lunge forward, to wrap him in a dramatic emotional hug, she'd even taken a step toward him, when Hestia apparently had the same idea.

The woman wrapped her arms around Sirius from the side. "Oh, isn't that so sweet of you to do." She cooed.

Startled, Rosie stepped back, bumping into Severus and slamming her mouth shut to quell her surprise.

"Uh, thanks Sirius." She muttered, and then looked away uncomfortably.

Moony glared at her ex-godfather.

Rosie slipped the ring onto her finger and shot Sirius a small smile, but the effort to keep a positive attitude was weighing on her.

This year, she had elected not to invite friends over, because she didn't want anything unfortunate to come up, like her unexpected depression had last year, that would ruin the fun. Instead, she'd just wanted to have her family, a good breakfast, and a couple of gifts.

Now however, with Hestia over, and tension running high between the marauders, Rose requested to be allowed to return with Severus to his house for the rest of the afternoon. Before she left, Moony cornered her in her bedroom.

"Listen princess." He started. "You know that Sirius loves you, yeah?"

"Moony, I know." She nodded, rubbing at her temples.

"He loves you so much, and girlfriends will probably come and go. That's how he's always been, but that won't change the way he feels about you. He'll always come back to us. He always comes back."

Rosie blinked as fast as she could, trying hard to occlude, but her silence was telling.

"Honey. You're allowed to feel upset."

"I can't believe he forgot my birthday." She croaked, and then exhaled roughly.

"I know." Her godfather closed his eyes. Then he came over, cupped her face with his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll talk to him tonight. You go with Severus, and I'll have a conversation with him about bringing her here, and boundaries."

"No! No, Moony please don't! I don't want to upset him. Please. I can handle it. He's just trying to prove something."

"Prove something? Sweetie, what does that mean? Are you two fighting again?"

"No, Merlin. Just promise me you'll leave it alone? Enjoy your evening with Kingsley and I'll just hang out with Severus and come back later."

"Alright, alright. I promise, but if this gets any more uncomfortable, I'm going to speak with him."

"I don't think it could possibly get anymore awkward than it already is." Rosie smirked grimly, giving her godfather another quick hug, and heading down the stairs to go with her other guardian.

Severus didn't say a word about Hestia, or Sirius for that matter, probably sensing her exasperation with the topic, and instead, offered to play a game with her. As usual, the only game he had to play was scrabble, so that was what they did.

"I would like to resume occlumency training with you, to prevent any further incidents such as what occurred at the ministry." He stated, putting down the word 'mind.'

Rosie let out a dry laugh. "No thank you. It won't help anyways. Plus, the headmaster doesn't think he'll try to read my mind again, after I got him out with _'love or whatever'_ when he possessed me."

She played the word 'fight.'

Severus cleared his throat. "You removed the dark lord from your head using love?" His tone was incredulous.

Rose shrugged. "Guess so. That's what Dumbledore says. I don't really remember it well, because of all the pain, but I think it was recognizing Moony that triggered him to leave." She finished as Severus placed the tiles down for, 'insane.'

Raising an eyebrow, the potion's master continued to pester. "The headmaster told you specifically that he did not believe occlumency necessary, or you simply do not want me in your thoughts?"

"Both." She stuck her tongue out, spelling, 'sorry.'

"Do desist this tongue-sticking-out behavior. It is for children, and you are no longer a child."

He put down, 'rules.'

"Ah, I'm not a child… so I can have Charlie over to Grimmauld then? For the night, for sex." She clarified.

Severus winced. "Regardless of your age, there will never be a time when I wish to know specific information regarding your intimate behavior Rose."

"That wasn't a no." She smirked, playing, 'squirm.'

"The Weasley boy is much too old for you. However, nothing I have said has deterred you, and you seem unable to grasp the nature of my concern. My only request is that you continue to use appropriate measures to prevent pregnancy."

"You're so sweet." Rosie pursed her lips, watching him lay tiles down for, 'caution.'

"Any apprehension that I possess stems directly from the affection that I hold for you."

"Love you too Severus." She smiled, placing the word, 'father.'

Her guardian had cooked her favorite dinner for her the previous evening, and had placed it under warming and preservation charms. They had made it through nearly all of the steak and kidney pie, and had almost moved on to the treacle tart when Severus pulled his arm back abruptly, dropping the plate he was holding onto the table and hissing in pain.

"Really Voldemort? My birthday." Rosie growled in irritation.

She was a lot more used to Severus' meetings with the dark lord than she had been before.

"Don't use that ruddy name." He hissed, moving quickly to hide the evidence of their dinner.

"Can I stay till you get back?" She pleaded, following him up the stairs where he needed to fetch his robes and mask.

"In your room. Lock the door." Her guardian instructed.

She was about to do as he demanded, but stopped, just for a moment, grasped onto his wrist, and looked him in the eyes.

"Be safe Severus."

"Always Rose." His voice was smooth and reassuring.

Back at Grimmauld place, Remus was incredibly unhappy with Sirius, and made his displeasure known. He had kindly asked Hestia to leave, and had bid Kingsley goodnight before the werewolf confronted his long-time best friend.

"I hope you know that Rose made me swear not to express how upset she was with you before she left."

The ex-con cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You seem to be doing it anyways."

"' _I can't believe he forgot my birthday.'_ Yes, I'm sure those were the exact words she used."

"I get it Remus. I fucked up."

"But she loves you so very much Padfoot, nearly shouted at me when I told her I'd talk to you about it. She doesn't want you to be upset with her."

"Enough." He moaned.

"What are you doing Sirius? With Hestia I mean. Is this some sort of distraction? Are you _that_ depressed? Or is it as Rose implied?"

"What did Rose say?" His friend questioned carefully.

"She seems to be under the impression that you're trying to prove some sort of point. Though she refused to elaborate."

Sirius paled.

"Ah. You know, that girl seems to understand you better than I do sometimes, must be a Potter thing. So, what is it? What are you trying to prove?"

"It's nothing Moony. Drop it."

Remus was just about to open his mouth to scold his friend, when Rosie burst through the floo, her face streaked with tears, and her hands covered in blood.

"Moony! Oh, thank Merlin. Please come! Severus is hurt!" She pleaded, her voice shaky and panicked.

Both men stood up in an instant, but Remus held his hand out to Sirius. "You keep Rosie here and call Poppy. I'll bring him through." He ordered, taking charge of the situation.

Sirius motioned for Rose to come over to him, and nodded at the werewolf, who disappeared into the flames.

Rose didn't know the first thing about healing. She didn't know which potions to use, which spells would fix what injuries, nothing. So, when Severus stumbled into the house on Spinner's end, bleeding and broken from his meeting, she panicked, running straight to get help.

"Oh love." Sirius sighed, gathering her into his arms, unphased by the blood. Rosie wrapped herself tightly around him and hung on, tears soaking through his shirt.

"He's really hurt Siri." She whispered.

"Shh." He pressed a hand to her hair, pulling her face into his chest. "Snape's a stubborn git. He'll be okay."

Sirius did his best to help her slow her breathing and calm down, wiping the tears from her eyes, but his efforts weren't of any use by the time that Moony had arrived back at the house with Severus leaning heavily against him.

That's how Rosie knew that the situation was grave. Severus would never, ever, get that close to her godfather, not unless he didn't have a choice in the matter. The only person who was allowed to touch him was her.

"Did you call Poppy?" Moony asked hurriedly, and Sirius tightened his grip on her and shot her godfather an apologetic look.

"Forgetting a lot of things today aren't you." The werewolf quipped, moving Severus to the couch and conjuring a patronus.

Siri held her while they waited for Madame Pomphrey to arrive, and all through her examination and treatment of him, right up until he was levitated upstairs into one of the guest bedrooms. Only then did Rose follow.

She sat down beside him on the bed and held onto her first guardian's hand, stroking it gently.

Maybe an hour had passed by the time her godfather had come to check on her. He sat down behind her and rubbed her arm, placing his chin on her head.

"Poppy says he'll be fine after some rest darling. He should be awake in the morning."

"Thanks, Moony." She cuddled back into him.

"Did you want to sleep in here with him tonight? I can find you some pajamas."

Rosie shook her head. "Nah. Severus is weird about sleeping in the same bed"

"Is he really?"

"Yeah, he doesn't like it."

"Hm. Yes that does sound like Severus. Alright, well, you come find me if you need sweet pea." He offered, kissing her hair, before standing up and heading toward his room.

When she was ready to settle down for the night, Rose went to her room and changed into the pink summer pajama set that she'd gotten from Hermione last summer, and headed down the hall.

Sirius' door was open, and he was just sitting there, staring at the wall.

She knocked anyways. "Siri? Can I come in?"

"Rose, hey hon. Yeah, of course." He patted the covers beside him, but he appeared uneasy.

His eyes roamed over her, and he scooted a big further away, rest his chin on his hands.

Crossing her legs, she sat down and did the same.

"Siri, how do you deal with people you love getting hurt? How did you do it? In the first war I mean."

Obviously, it must have looked like she needed some comfort, because Sirius unfolded his hands and reached out for hers.

"I know it's really awful precious. I do, but you've gotta just take one day at a time. Snape'll be back to normal ordering you around in no time. Just try not to think about it."

"I know but, what did you do when people got hurt, and when they died? How did you cope?"

"Ha. Darlin you already know that I don't cope."

She smirked. "Yeah, but how about other order members that weren't my parents, like Dorcas, or Marlene. Moony told me about you and Marlene."

He frowned, and then exhaled. "It was hard Rosie. It's always hard, but you've just got to trust that people come into your life for a reason and they leave your life for a reason, even if you can't always see the reason right away."

"Why do you think my dad died? Why do you think he had to leave your life then?"

Now Sirius looked really sad. "Rose, my best guess is that it was so that you and I could become as close as we are. I can't imagine that we would've been this close had he lived. You would've had other people, other things going on… it would've been different."

"You probably would've been my Uncle Padfoot." She snorted.

Her ex-godfather pulled a face, running a hand through his hair in discomfort. "Yeah, well, I'm not that, am I?" He muttered.

A closed silence descended upon them.

"Rose." He started, moving a bit closer towards her.

She looked at him, waiting for him to finish his thought.

"Hon, you know that even if there are things that we both might want, things that feel right, that they couldn't… that we couldn't…"

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, trying desperately to convey his message without actually using the words.

"I know that Sirius." Rosie stilled, surprised at his sudden boldness.

"But that doesn't mean… I never should've done what I did today. You have every right to be upset with me, hell, I'm furious with myself, and just… please don't ever think that any girl or anything will get in the way of our relationship, even if I am just trying to prove a point." Siri exhaled nervously, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Goddammit Moony." She swore, balling her hands into fists.

"He's just worried, and Merlin if you're right about this thing with Hestia, then he should be."

"Can we not talk about this anymore. Please?" Rose twisted her hair.

It was upsetting enough to know that nothing could ever happen between them, and to have him say it. She didn't need it reiterated.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'll stop bring Hestia over. I'll keep you out of it."

Rose shook her head. "No Sirius. Bring her over. I want you to. I'll get used to her. I'll do that for you." She was still determined to be the bigger person.

"You're such a bloody Gryffindor." He mumbled, shooting her a barely there little smirk.

"I am a Potter." She shrugged.

He winced, and then snorted anxiously. "Yes, you are."

Knowing that she was testing her luck, Rosie uncrossed her legs and stretched them out in front of her. "Can I sleep here?"

Sirius looked torn.

"Please? I'm just worried about Severus, and…"

"Why don't you go sleep with Moony?" He suggested softly.

"I just…didn't get to see you hardly at all today." Oh, she was such a Slytherin.

Sure enough, her ex-godfather's face creased and he nodded. "Yeah, course you can Rose."

She leaned against him, and he traced little circles on her back as she drifted off to sleep.

Rosie and Sirius woke up at the same time the next day, both quite early. She shifted and sat up, and her ex-godfather did too. The first order of business was the check on Severus.

"Will you come with me?" Rose asked, fidgeting.

Sirius' cheeks tinged pink and he adjusted the blankets. "Just give me a minute Rosie. I'll follow you."

Not pushing the matter, she got up and moved down the hall. Severus was already awake and sitting up with Dumbledore, who sat in a chair beside him.

Feeling self-conscious, Rose crossed her arms over her chest.

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "I suppose it is too much to hope that you do not typically walk around in that pajama set whilst others are present." He tutted, motioning her forward.

Her guardian tapped his wand over her pink tank top and murmured a spell, changing it into a pink sweatshirt.

"I can see you're feeling well again." She commented, and the headmaster's eyes twinkled, as they usually did when she and Severus were together.

"Rose, I do apologize for frightening you last night. The state in which I returned was not fit for your eyes."

"Oh, yes, please keep apologizing for being tortured and nearly killed you self-deprecating git." Rosie glared.

They bantered back and forth for a little while longer, until the headmaster cut them off. "Rose, my dear girl. I was actually wondering if perhaps you might step into another room to chat with me a moment?" He requested.

She nodded and followed him into her proper bedroom.

He sat her down, and his eyes said everything that he was going to say before he even got a chance to.

"Sweet girl." Dumbledore began and immediately, Rosie started to cry. Her face crumpled, and her chest heaved with the force of a sob that she'd been holding in for weeks.

The wizened headmaster smiled sadly, and reached out for her, allowing Rose to fall into his arms as he gripped her with more strength than she'd thought he had.

"Oh, I know. I know child. Hush now. Remus has confided in me that you've been having some nasty mood swings. I of course assured him that you have had good reason to, but I understand how difficult this must be to withhold."

"I'm just really scared sir." She hiccoughed. "I know I'll be fine. I'll have my mom and dad… and Cedric, but I don't know what _they'll_ do when I'm gone."

He rocked her back and forth in his arms like a child for an undetermined length of time, smoothing her hair and whispering soothing words.

Rosie had never broken down like this in front of the old wizard, except perhaps after Lockhart, but she couldn't remember a lot of that. It was nice to get it out, and to be with someone who knew the entire situation, but the truth of the matter was so much clearer.

It didn't matter how much Rose changed, bargained, begged, or pleaded. She was going to have to die. If there had been any advancement, he would've told her. So, she cried, and she let him hold her, and when he left, she lay down in her bed and didn't get up.


	113. Chapter 113

Rosie didn't get out of bed when Dumbledore left that day. She wasn't tired, but she wasn't awake either. She was grieving.

Rose was grieving for the little girl in the cupboard who found a new home, a new family, and a new world only to have it ripped away from her in only five short years. Drowning in a sea of self-pity, she tugged the blankets over her head and ignored Moony. She ignored Sirius, and Severus, even Padfoot who came scratching at the door later in the evening.

In fact, it got to a point where Rosie wasn't even sure whether it was day or night, day two or day four, if she was hungry, clean, or even if she had to use the washroom.

Severus had come over after an undetermined amount of time and forced her out of bed and into the bathroom.

"You will use the lavatory and take a shower." He stated, crossing his arms as she stood dazed, staring away from the mirror.

Her guardian did not shut the door. Instead, he turned around, standing straight as a soldier and waited. Eventually, she obeyed, lathering shampoo in her hair, and letting it rundown her body when she was finished. Naked and vulnerable, Rosie wrapped a towel around herself and stumbled out of the shower, her energy level low.

Without a word, Severus handed her some knickers, a sweatshirt and a pair of pajama shorts and then looked away again. When she had finished changing, he entered the bathroom, placed a hand on her back and led her back down the hall into the bedroom.

"Your godfather would like permission to come up to your room and read your OWL results with you."

Rosie groaned.

"Shall I deny his request on your behalf?"

She pulled herself into a sitting position on the bed and dropped her head into her hands, giving permission with her eyes.

Severus left and Moony returned in his place, clutching two, thick Hogwarts envelopes in his hand.

"Hey princess." He greeted softly. "Look what came in this morning."

Rose sighed. "Please don't be mad." She croaked, leaning heavily onto the pillow behind her.

"I could never." Moony motioned for her to take the letters, but she shook her head.

"You open it."

He frowned, but did as she asked. Her godfather took out the OWL result sheet and looked it over, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Well, it looks like Sirius and I did our job quite well."

He handed her the parchment.

 _Potions: P_

 _Charms: A_

 _History of Magic: D_

 _Transfiguration: A_

 _Defense Against the Dark Arts: O_

 _Herbology: P_

 _Astronomy: A_

 _Care of Magical Creatures: EE_

 _Arithmancy: EE_

 _Miss. Rose Lily Potter has achieved passing grades in four core subjects, and two extracurricular classes, resulting in six cumulative OWL qualifications._

"Well, look at that my love. Six OWLs, even after everything you've been through. I'm so proud of you." The werewolf patted her arm.

"Do me a favor and keep this away from Severus." She bit her lip.

"Darling, I'm sure Severus has known your marks for days. He is your teacher."

She shrugged. "Do I have to go back to school this year?"

His face fell. "Rose, honey. Yes. Yes, you do."

"I don't wanna be away from you guys that long."

"Sweetheart, you need to go to school so that you can have a career. You know that. Open the next one." He pushed, nudging the other envelope into her hands.

"Moony, it's just my book list."

"Just open it darling, please?"

Exhaling, Rosie did as she was told, tearing the seal, her eyes widening slightly when a badge fell out onto her lap.

Quidditch captain.

Her godfather was smiling brightly, but Rose just felt like she'd been punched in the gut. Dumbledore was obviously trying to push her to do things that she enjoyed before she died, but, from the looks of the badge, he seemed to also think that she would last the school year. It was bittersweet.

When she didn't react, Moony caressed her cheek. "Love, I don't know what's going on in your head right now, but I hope you know how proud I am, and how proud everyone is for how hard you've worked.

Rose rolled onto her side, curling up in the fetal position, blinking up at nothing, and toying with her godfather's hand. He sat with her for a while, his face one of nervous exasperation.

"I'm gonna start supper sweet pea." Moony informed her after a while, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her hand. "I'd love to see you downstairs."

She stayed in bed.

Sirius was peeved when Remus came down the stairs without Rose.

"What right does Dumbledore have to come here and upset her like this? It's fucked up."

"Why don't you go up and ask her. You're her _secret keeper_." His best friend grumbled, obviously still sore.

"Hey, you know she hasn't told me shit."

"You wouldn't tell me if she had."

"Moony, I can't make her tell you things. I don't know why you're so cross; she still loves you more than she loves me."

"I just feel like she's pulling away from me."

"Yeah, well she's just going through a phase. She'll come out of this depression thing; she always does."

"I'm not so sure. She's just so lethargic. This is almost as bad as is was after the third task…like somebody died."

"So, march into Dumbledore's bloody office and tell him to get back here and fix her."

The werewolf snorted.

"I'm serious." He pushed.

"You're always Sirius."

"Fuck off." Sirius smirked, shaking his head.

Though he was hesitant, Remus did follow his advice, and after the order meeting the next evening, day four of Rose leaving her bed only to use the loo, he approached the headmaster.

Sirius could see him explaining the situation from across the room. He wanted to go over and join the conversation, but Hestia was hanging off his arm, and he was determined not to involved her in Rose business.

Rosie hadn't wanted to go down for the order meeting, partially because she was still too tired, but also because she really didn't want to see Sirius and Hestia.

Severus had come early to read to her from some sort of potion's journal, and she'd appreciated the gesture, his soft drawl lulling her back to sleep. Her guardian had not made a single comment about her failing grade in his class.

She was still asleep when Professor Dumbledore came into the room and sat down on the bed. His weight shifted the covers, and Rose awoke groggily, rubbing at her eyes and pushing herself up into a sitting position when she realized who was visiting her.

"Hi sir."

"Hello my dear. I've been sent up here by your very preoccupied godfather to right the wrong I've done." He peered at her over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

"Did he really word it like that?"

"He did, but I do think that Mr. Black might have played a part in coming to that conclusion. He does seem rather more informed."

Rosie shrugged. "Yeah."

"Rose. I hope you know that I never intended for you to become aware of this predicament until absolutely necessary, and for that I am truly sorry. I have put you in an impossible situation."

She sighed and then let out a dark, humorless chuckle. "I'm trying professor, but it's killing me, no pun intended."

The headmaster's lips quirked up into the tiniest of smiles.

"My dear girl, your ability to entertain even in the darkest of times still astounds me."

"Professor, sir, no offense, but what are you doing here? You can't get this piece of Voldemort's soul out of me, so what's the point? Eventually, I'm sure I'll snap out of this, do my best to kill the Dark Lord, and then offer up my life for the good of the wizarding world. Isn't that what you want?"

He frowned then and then reached down, rolling up the cuff of his left sleeve to the wrist, revealing a blackened, charred remnant of what his hand used to be.

Rosie gasped. "Sir, what the hell did you do?"

"I made a mistake." The man replied calmly. "It is not the first time, and it won't be the last time that I have made an error in judgement."

"Why are you telling me this? What does this mean?" She stared at this hand in grim fascination, reaching out to touch it. The skin was coarse like sandpaper, and the headmaster winced, just slightly.

"I'm telling you this, so that you know that my judgement is not infallible. There may still be a way for you to make it out alive, but we cannot know until events play out. I'm also showing you, so that you know that I will be with you every step of the way."

His gaze was sincere, and Rosie stayed quiet to allow him the chance to finish his thought.

"Rose, child, this curse, the one that I've inflicted upon my hand is called a 'living mummy.' Its progression is slow, but painful. Severus has been able, through early intervention, to contain it to my hand; however, it will spread and I will be dead within the year."

" _Oh._ Oh professor."

"I will be there for you Rose. If a time should come in which we meet in the afterlife, I will protect and care for you. Do you understand me? You will not be alone, not from the time you make the decision to die, to the moment you leave this earth."

"What if I die first?" She asked softly.

"You won't." He nodded.

"How can you know that?"

"Because my death will be the catalyst for Lord Voldemort to focus his energy solely on eradicating you."

"When?" The question left her lips as a breathy whisper.

"There is not a fixed timeline my dear, but I think it safe to say that the probability of the both of us joining our loved ones in the afterlife within the next two years is high. Though, as I said before, my path is much clearer. You should not lose hope."

"And you'll take care of me?"

"I will watch over you, wait for you, and guide you if need be. I don't want you to fret over the logistics of dying."

Rosie lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his silvery hair.

The headmaster patted her serenely on the back. "I'm sorry you're dying too." She whispered.

"As I have said before Rose; to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"I should probably spend some time with Remus before I'm on the other side waiting for him to die huh?"

"I think your godfather would strongly agree with that course of action."

Rosie spent one more night in bed contemplating the conversation, and then the next morning, she woke up early, dressed in comfy clothes, and crept down the hall, pushing Moony's door open and sneaking over to the unoccupied side of the bed.

She crawled under the covers and scooted closer to him, shutting her eyes and waiting for him to wake up.

"Rose?" He nudged her awake. "Are you alright?"

Rosie blinked a few times and stretched. "Do you think Siri will take me to Godric's Hollow today if I ask him?"

Moony didn't miss a beat, but she could see the relief behind his eyes. "I'm sure he'll be happy to take you."

Sirius was indeed happy to oblige, but he wasn't prepared to let her off scot free for the extended depression spell. When they were alone in the kitchen, he turned to her.

"What was that about kid? Dumbledore visits on your birthday, and you don't talk to any of us for days, he visits again and you're fine. What's he saying to you?"

She exhaled with a loud sigh. "Maybe I'll tell you someday Siri, but even if I do, you'll wish I hadn't."

"You're so bloody dramatic."

Godric's Hollow was very different from how Rose had imagined it. She'd always sort of idolized the quaint little muggle-wizard village, neglecting to think of it as just that.

There was an air of normalcy, but even through the thinly veiled attempts to conceal the magic from its muggle residents, the village held a certain quality that eluded to its inherent otherness.

It was almost as though Rosie could feel an undercurrent of magic beneath her skin.

Siri had convinced Moony that he would be enough protection, and that if anything or anyone dangerous happened to appear, that he would apparate her home straight away.

The street when they had appeared was silent. There weren't many people out and about. Off to the right, Rose could see an elderly man tending to his flowers, and down the road a bit further, there was a young mother sitting outside in a rocking chair, her baby propped up on her chest.

Siri hooked her arm through his and pulled her close. She could tell that he was just about as nervous as she was. Rosie knew that he hadn't been back since the night her parents died.

"I always liked it here. Your grandparents didn't want James and Lils to move. They wanted them at Potter manor, but James didn't want you to be 'raised in your wealth' like he was." Sirius let out a soft chuckle.

"Well, he'd be happy to note that I wasn't." Rosie retorted.

"Actually, I don't think he'd be happy at all with where you ended up love. He'd kill that Vernon bloke for ever laying a hand on you."

"Let's not talk about Uncle Vernon right now." She dismissed, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

Siri snaked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her around the corner. They walked for another minute like this until finally, they came upon a small house, or, the ruins of one anyways.

Rosie froze. She hadn't realized that the house would still be standing.

"They… they just left it like this?" There were remnants of a baby cot in the uppermost corner.

"It's some sort of memorial." Sirius replied, rubbing her arm. "Look." He pointed to the fence, where someone had written a supportive message.

"That's… well I don't know if that sweet or weird."

"Yeah me neither. You don't… Do you, er, want to go inside?"

Rose balked. "Um. No. I don't think so." She shook her head, burying her face in his shoulder. "Let's just visit the cemetery."

It was hard to pry themselves away from the house, and what was surely a flood of memories for her ex-godfather, but they managed to meander their way along to road to arrive at the grave yard.

 _The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

She read only that, before collapsing onto the ground in front of the joint headstone.

Sirius came down with her and pulled her to him. His breathing was ragged. Rosie was feeling many things. The evocative quote had triggered her own fear of death, and the presence of her parents' names carved into the stone aroused another, deeper emotion.

It was almost an acceptance of sorts. All Rosie had to do was die, and then she'd see her mother and father again. Something about this visit felt like a homecoming, a 'see you soon,' as opposed to a formal goodbye.

Her ex-godfather, who was oblivious to her inner monologue, was upset for the more obvious of reasons. He was holding her, but it seemed like he was the one who needed to be held.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"What would you say to him Siri? If you could have five minutes. What would you tell him?" Rose reached out to touch the cool stone.

Sirius brought his lips down to the top of her head and she could feel him shake.

"I'd say I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry." He answered without even stopping to think.

"Hey, he knows. You don't have to apologize. He would forgive you for anything you think you've done." She tried to soothe him.

The ex-con was facing her now, both of them kneeling in the dirt. His eyes roamed over her searchingly, and when she tried to give him a small smile, he inhaled sharply, pulling her into his chest once again.

"No, he wouldn't. He'd fucking kill me." Siri whispered, clinging onto her so tight that she couldn't breathe.

"I'd just tell him that I didn't mean for any of this to happen, not any of it, and that I'm so sorry for everything I've done or might do…or… god I don't know what I'd tell 'im."

Rosie wrapped her arms around him in return and rubbed his back. She wondered vaguely if her dad could see them, if he was watching them from wherever he was. Rose wondered if he understood Sirius' words to mean what she did.

They didn't spend long at the gravesite. It was clearly a very emotional experience for Siri, and Rose didn't like to see him suffer. He was silent for the walk back up the road, and when they landed back at Grimmauld place, he gave her a look that begged understanding, before taking off again to Hestia's.

Rosie understood, but she didn't like it. She really didn't like it.

She and Moony ate lunch with Kingsley that afternoon, and that lightened her mood. At nightfall, Rose was beginning to wonder if Sirius would ever come back home, but by nine o'clock she had Padfoot scratching at the door.

The dog curled up at the foot of her bed, blinking up at her with those irresistible puppy eyes, and she couldn't help be smile back.

The pup rolled onto his back, waiting for her to pet his belly, and then drifted off to sleep as she did so.

 _Poor Sirius_ , was her last thought before crawling under the covers and doing the same.


	114. Chapter 114

Typically, whenever the headmaster came by, any order member present made every attempt to please him, going to lengths they wouldn't go to for anyone else. This was also true for Sirius and Remus. However, when he made an appearance that day, coming to call for Rose, both her godfather and ex-godfather shot him a wary glance, looking back to gauge her reaction.

Rosie smiled, trying to reassure them. "Do you want to talk in private?" She offered.

"Actually dear, I was wondering if perhaps you'd be willing to take a little jaunt with me today. I've got an errand that might be of interest to you."

"I think we'd prefer to keep Rose in today." Moony pushed, which was especially surprising. He rarely went against the headmaster.

"Moony. I'd like to go."

Her godfather looked to Sirius for back up.

The ex-con raised his hands, signaling that he was not going to get involved. "It's Rosie's choice mate."

"Fine. Fine, alright. Just, be careful sweetheart." He planted a kiss on her forehead, his browed perched and anxious.

He didn't stick around, choosing instead to head up stairs toward his bedroom.

Rosie frowned and watched him go.

"Guess I'll be back later." She shrugged quietly, blinking at Siri.

"You be careful now precious." Her ex-godfather smiled, obviously trying to put her at ease.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he led her from the house. He'd apparated them to an unfamiliar street, arms linked, and started to ask questions as they walked.

"I can see that Remus is taking to parenting with vigor."

"He's just worried sick." She sighed. "I understand. It's annoying, but I understand. He's been a bit stricter with me lately… if you can really call it that."

The headmaster patted her arm sympathetically as they walked.

"It seems that Mr. Black balances him out nicely, perhaps Sirius is the so called 'fun parent.'

Rosie choked.

"You do not agree? I was under the impression that you had, for the most part, mended fences with your godfather."

"Do you remember when you told me, after the shrieking shack incident, that I shouldn't discount Sirius, and that eventually I'd find out where he's supposed to fit in my life?"

"I do." He hummed, guiding her around the corner onto another street.

"Well. I think maybe we've figured that out…but it might be just a bit too early for us to carry that knowledge."

"Do elaborate Rose." The headmaster smiled benignly.

"It's complicated sir, but let's just say that our current relationship is primarily one that my father wouldn't approve of; any of my fathers."

The man was silent for another few paces before he replied. "And this particular aspect of your relationship was entered into consensually?"

"Ha. I wish there was something to consent to. He's too noble to shag his underage goddaughter."

"Yes, that is… predictable. Have you spoken with him directly about this? Perhaps if you asked him to share his feelings regarding his relationship with your father, and your substantial age gap, he would be receptive.

"There lies the issue." She grumbled. "Once again James Potter makes my sex life difficult."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Every father's ambition I'm sure."

"Sorry, that was way too much information. I just haven't been able to talk about this with anyone because well… they'd freak out."

"I understand your frustration dear. Though, I'm sure it would be much less complicated for everyone involved if you could wait until your next birthday to seduce the poor man."

"Er… you don't think that would be wildly inappropriate?"

"One of the most interesting tidbits of information that I've picked up in my lifetime Rose is that while love is one of the most inexhaustible, boundless, and powerful magics that we possess, it is also flexible."

"I just don't know what to do." She ranted. "He wants to be around me, and with me all the time when he's home. He opens up to me, and dumps all of this emotional baggage onto me, like a relationship, and then he realizes what he's doing, gets all awkward and quiet, and then runs to Hestia's." Her voice was shaky with emotion now.

The headmaster, who always treated her with so much respect, had stopped walking now and was frowning. He motioned for her to follow him and they sat down on a bench near a playground close by.

"I think that you should speak with Sirius about this my dear." He advised calmly.

"I can't! If I talk about it, he'll just avoid me. He'll go to her, and I'll never see him. Ever since he kissed me after the battle at the ministry, he's been so upset with himself. I can't help it if I want to be around him. I push the boundaries and he lets me and then he freaks out and leaves." Rosie hiccoughed, wiping her eyes.

Dumbledore brushed the tears from her cheeks with his good hand, and appraised her.

"Darling girl, perhaps a break is in order. What if you stayed with our favorite potion's master for the remainder of the summer? I think I could spin up an excuse if need be."

"And let Moony down because I can't stop pining after my godfather? It's pathetic."

"Remus would of course be welcome to visit Spinner's end, and I'll allow your lessons with him to continue throughout the school year. I think that perhaps a break will help both you and Mr. Black to see things clearer than they are now."

"Every second that I have with them is important to me sir. Every minute I get with Moony, Sirius, and Severus is special and I don't want to spend my time, however much of it I have, arguing."

"I urge you not to live as though your time is limited my dear. There is still hope."

"No, no. It's okay. I can deal with it. I shouldn't've said anything. Just forget about it sir, please."

"I'm glad you've shared this with me Rose, and do let me know if what you need changes at any time, but I urge to you be cautious. While it does seem a bit like the meddling of fate, that a Potter and a Black would unite in such a way, if not handled carefully, a relationship this complicated could prove to have disastrous consequences for everyone involved."

"I know sir." She whispered, looking away.

"Well, now that this is settled, shall we continue?"

He stuck out his uninjured hand to help her up.

"Er, where are we professor?"

"It's a charming, muggle village known as Budleigh Babberton. An old friend of mine resides here, and I have come to convince him to resume his old teaching post."

She paused, cringing. "Are you seriously taking me to meet the new defense professor sir? You know I hate defense professors."

"Actually, Horace, if I am successful, will be teaching potions. I believe that you in particular will be rather fond of our new defense professor."

"You're finally letting Severus teach defense?!" Rosie gasped, bringing her hands together with excitement.

"If Horace agrees to fill in for him in potions, yes."

"Oh! That's so exciting! Why are you bringing me? Do you need me to help convince him? What do you need?" Severus had been wanting to teach defense ever since she'd known him.

The headmaster smiled. "I'm ashamed to admit that I'm rather using your notoriety, as well as your family connections to bribe him into coming out of retirement. You see, your mother was very dear to him, and he has a certain…affinity for fame."

"He knew my mom?"

"After Severus of course, Lily was one of his finest potions students. He was very easily charmed by her, and I'm hoping he'll react very similarly with you today."

"So, basically, Severus' job is hanging over my head?"

"If that motivates you to be on your best behavior, then yes." His eyes twinkled playfully.

"Yes sir. Let's go!" She smiled, tugging him along.

Turning one more corner, they arrived on a rather plain looking street, which, very like Godric's Hollow, didn't have much in the way of activity. It was the middle of the day, but there wasn't a soul in sight, muggle or magical.

Immediately, Dumbledore drew is wand. "Rose, please do as I do." He instructed; his tone serious.

She did as she was told and took out her wand, clutching onto the arm of his robes, the casual atmosphere of their interaction dissipating.

The house appeared normal, as normal as houses can be, but the front door was already cracked open. The headmaster walked forward cautiously, casting a few detection spells along the way, and keeping her tucked safely behind him.

The moment that she and Dumbledore breached the door, Rosie was no longer in the present. She was no longer with the headmaster, she was with Sirius, and flashes of Amos Diggory's distorted neck, and his limp body rushed into the forefront of her consciousness.

The front room was destroyed, there was blood on the walls, and Rose just couldn't look. She buried her face into Dumbledore's cloak, and held onto him tightly.

The man rubbed her back.

"Rose, dear. The coast is clear. If this home had in fact been attacked by death eaters, then the dark mark would fly in the sky above us, and the walls would be coated with human blood, not dragons' blood."

"What?" She croaked.

"In other words, Horace is pretending to have died." He explained, ever patient with her, though she knew he grew tired of her dramatics.

"I am under the impression that my old friend does not wish to be found. Not to worry Rose, pip pip." He nudged her off of him gently and winked, moving across the room and poking at the large, overstuffed armchair with his wand.

The armchair was no longer, as what once appeared to be a normal item of furniture rose up, the cushion pushing outwards, and the back shrinking and folding inward, creating the shape of a head.

"An excellent example of human transfiguration Horace. I do believe that human transfiguration is a substantial part the sixth-year curriculum. Rose dear, you may wish to ask him how he did it."

"You couldn't've left me in peace? I'm an old man, Albus, a man who's earned the right to a quiet retirement and a few creature comforts." The now fully formed man grumbled, flattening down his shirt, obviously disgruntled.

He was quite a bit shorter than Dumbledore, but looked to be the width of Uncle Vernon. The man was very large, so large in fact that his midriff was nearly bursting from the buttons on his pajama top. The pajamas reminded her of Moony, who always wore proper sleepthings to bed. Though, it was the middle of the day.

Perhaps that's what retired people did. Rosie had never met anyone retired before.

"Funny, you didn't appear to be very comfortable. Horace, I'd like you to meet Rose Potter. Rose, this is Horace Slughorn." He smiled.

"Hi sir! Professor Dumbledore's told me so much about you!" She moved forward, to embrace the man, giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek.

Appearing slightly perturbed, Slughorn pulled his face into a forced smile and patted her back. "Yes, I've heard very much about you over the years young lady. From the prophet of course. I'm quite friendly with the editor you see…" He trailed off. "Don't think I don't know why you've come Albus, and the answer is still no."

"Not to worry Horace, I'm only here for a visit. Young Rose was with me and asked to come along. She going into her sixth year you know."

"Yes well…"

The headmaster interrupted him again. "Why don't we set this place right for the muggles who live here and we'll be off?"

With a few waves of his wand, furniture sewed itself back together, crystals from the chandelier flew up into their spots, and the lamp, which Slughorn had broken, reassembled itself.

"How did you know to do all this sir?" She asked, spinning around to watch the cleanup.

"I have an alarm dear, one that reports to me every time a witch or wizard appears in town. It is exclusively a muggle village." He responded, semi-distracted by Dumbledore.

"If you're really that scared for your safety why wouldn't you come back to Hogwarts? Surely you didn't do all of this just to avoid teaching? We're not _that_ horrible!" Rose joked with him.

"Oh goodness I can see why Albus decided to bring you along." He chuckled nervously.

"Might I use your restroom?" The headmaster prodded, and Rosie smirked. The man must have a bit of Slytherin in him.

"Of course, of course, 'round the corner and down the hall." The portly man instructed, before turning back to Rose.

"So, tell me my girl, how've you been? The last I heard of you, in the papers of course, was that you had an altercation at the ministry with death eaters. Nasty business."

She bit her lip. "Yeah, I was kidnapped from school."

"You were kidnapped from Hogwarts? Where were your teachers?"

Rosie shrugged. "Well, the situation was pretty bad with that awful ministry appointee for defense. There wasn't much time to watch over individual students… My godfather almost pulled me out of school this year." She lied.

"Sirius Black?" How is he doing? A fine student he was, thick as thieves he and your father."

She giggled. "Actually, Remus Lupin is my godfather, but Sirius does live with us. He's alright, still recovering from Azkaban."

"Lupin? Oh yes, I had him too. Poor, sickly little boy. You know, I had Sirius' brother Regulus in my own house. He motioned to a picture stand on the mantle above the fireplace.

Rosie followed him over, standing on her tip toes. She'd never seen a picture of Siri's brother as a teenager before. They looked very similar, both with the same shaggy dark hair, but the devilish smile that her ex-godfather usually wore was missing. On Regulus it presented as a thin grimace.

She skimmed over the pictures one by one, but her eyes stopped and focused when she landed on one particular photo. It was her mother and Professor Slughorn standing side by side. Her mother looked to be about Rose's age, and appeared to be dressed up for some sort of party.

Her breath caught and she brought her hand to the man's shoulder. "I love seeing new pictures of my mom." She breathed.

"Ah yes, Lily." He smiled. "You do so resemble her, about the eyes in particular." He motioned to his own face to demonstrate.

"So I've been told." Rose beamed. "What was she like from your eyes?"

"From my eyes? Well, she was a magnificent student, but there was something about her that just made you want to be around her. I liked to invite her to my office just for tea, or for a chat. She always came to every one of my parties. At Christmas, we'd exchange gifts. Oh, just little things, but still, it was always very meaningful."

An unpleasant feeling churned in her gut, but Rose squashed it down. Instead, she forced a smile. "That's lovely sir. I definitely miss her."

"Why you were only an infant when she passed. So sad." He hummed. "You have had quite a difficult time of it, haven't you my dear?"

Now a little more susceptible to discomfort, Rose winced, deciding to play the victim card.

"Yeah, I've just had a lot of problems with professors in general too. It's hard to know who to trust."

"Certainly, dear girl. Nobody would fault you for that. I do hope you trust me."

Rosie shrugged. "You're not my teacher, but of course I do."

By that time, Dumbledore was finally done in the loo, and he returned carrying a magazine.

"Do you mind if I take this?" He asked genially, holding it up. "I do love knitting patterns."

"Yes, yes Albus." Slughorn brushed him off, staring at the wall opposite them.

"Wonderful, well, Rose and I must be going now. Do enjoy your afternoon."

The headmaster held his arm out for her to take and she did.

"It was really nice to meet you professor." She pandered, blinking at him with her Lily-eyes, the expression that always got her what she wanted with Severus, and then she turned away.

"Well, wait just one second Albus. Fine. Fine, I'll do it, but I want a nicer office, and better pay!" He shouted as they walked down the steps.

"I'll see you on the first Horace." The man waved; his face triumphant as they strolled away.

"Very well-done Rose." Dumbledore patted her arm.

"Thanks sir, but you know he'll probably be disappointed when I'm not in his class. I did fail potions."

"Indeed, Severus mentioned that. Not to worry, I'm sure that Horace will still accept you into his class. He'll love to be the professor who inspires change within you." He winked and Rosie groaned. More potions.

When the headmaster had dropped her off, Rose found Moony waiting in the sitting room by the fireplace. He looked up cautiously when she came in through the door, and then his face broke out into a grin once he realized that she still looked emotionally stable.

"How was the trip?" Her godfather asked, trying to sound casual.

"It was really good. Dumbledore's been helping me a lot."

"I'm glad. Where did you two get off to?"

"I was going to ask you about that actually Moony, I just need you to tell me if I'm being crazy."

"Go on." He frowned.

"Well, we went to see Professor Slughorn, to convince him to come back and teach potions this coming term."

"Slughorn? Then who'll teach defense?"

"Severus." Rosie filled in.

"Ah. What did you think of ol'sluggy?" Moony grinned.

"He was okay." She bit her lip. "But just… the way he talked about my mom made me uncomfortable, and I know he's Dumbledore's friend, and he was a teacher for so many years but it just made me think of Lockhart, and I just wanted to make sure you'd never heard anything bad like that about him." Rose was rambling now.

" _Oh._ Oh sweetheart, no. No, Slughorn was never like that. He's just very easily enamored with talent and with fame. You don't need to be worried, he's harmless." The werewolf reached out to take her hand.

"You're sure? My mom never said anything?"

"No, my love. Your mom adored that man. She really did. He wasn't doing anything inappropriate to her."

Taking a shaky breath, Rose nodded. "Kay, thank you. I'm sorry, it's just my stupid instinct to make a creep out of everyone."

"It's not stupid." He grimaced. "Not at all. You of all people have an excuse."

She could tell he was thinking of her naked and crying again.

"I love you Moony. No matter what."

"I love you too Rose." He replied with a tender smile.

Her wonderful godfather had intercepted Sirius' plan to invite Hestia over for another trial supper that evening, but Rosie, who'd gotten wind of this had negated the werewolf and invited her over anyways. She was trying to be more supportive of Sirius, afraid that in continuing to be uncomfortable around the woman, she would inadvertently distance herself from Siri.

So, once again, Rose cooked a meal. Moony helped her to come up with vegetarian alternatives, and had even brought home some pretend meat from the supermarket where he worked.

"This looks disgusting." She made a face, and he chuckled.

By the time the food was finished, she was quite proud of their efforts. Sirius had gone to get Hestia, who upon arrival, had shot her an awkward grimace and then glommed onto her ex-godfather's arm.

Moony took a seat next to her as she served the plates. This time he hadn't invited Kingsley, not wanting to make her out to look like a fifth wheel again.

"So, how's work Hestia?" She tried, cutting up her plant-based meat. Hestia worked in some stuffy job at the ministry.

"Ah. Good, thank you Rose. It's been quite busy, people left and right claiming to have spotted You-Know-Who and his death eaters."

"That must be unhelpful, to have so many false sightings."

"Yup, makes my job difficult." She responded, and then the tension descended around them once again.

"I heard from Bill Weasley's fiancé, that French lass, that you've been seeing Charlie." Hestia brought up, and Sirius stilled beside her. He really hated Charlie after the incident at Christmas.

"Are you seeing Charlie?" Her ex-godfather raised an eyebrow.

Rose sighed. "Fleur's just an insufferable gossip. No, I'm not. We're just friends."

"That's not how Fleur made it sound." The woman quipped, apparently trying to tease her.

"Charlie's not really the relationship type Hestia." Rosie shrugged. "He's kind of like Sirius in that way." She continued dryly.

Sirius spat out his pumpkin juice, and let out an amused snort as Hestia's face dropped into a glare.

"Rose!" Moony admonished, but she could see the laughter behind his expression as well.

"I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" She frowned, playing innocent.

"Really precious?" Siri winced, still fighting a smirk.

Rose blinked.

Moony brought up school then, and Sirius relaxed, regaling them of stories from the marauders highlight reel.

"Rosie met Slughorn today." Her godfather piped up conversationally.

"No way! Really? Why?"

She told the story, and Sirius laughed when she mentioned the armchair.

"Hey! It's not funny. It reminded me of when we found Amos…"

He quieted with a sympathetic frown, and then Moony changed the topic.

"When were you at Hogwarts Hestia? Did you have Slughorn as a professor?"

"Nah, I had Snape. Fucking git." She cursed, shaking her head.

Rosie, who knew that Severus was an asshole, still felt hostility towards the woman for the negative comment, her smile fading.

"Careful, Rosie's super obsessed with Snape." Siri informed her.

"I'm not obsessed with him! He's my guardian!"

They bantered back and forth for a while until finally the dinner ended.

Rose had gone up to her bedroom after supper, but she hadn't heard Hestia leave. Not paying too much mind to that, she'd changed into some cozy sleep shorts and a large t-shirt, combing her hair out, while reading up on the material for NEWT potions. All of it was far too advanced for her. She'd stopped learning somewhere around boil cure potions in second year.

After a few hours of reading, Rosie heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" She called, not paying much attention.

It was Hestia.

"Er, hi." Rose greeted, sitting up in her bed.

"Hey Rose, sorry to bug you. Sirius just wanted to talk to you if you're not busy."

"Well, you can tell Sirius that if he wants to talk to me, he can come in here and talk to me." She replied sardonically, eyes turning back to her book.

"I think it's important." She tried again, but Rosie just sighed. "It's like I said Hestia."

If the woman had left, Rose didn't notice.

About half an hour later, she began to wonder why Siri hadn't come in to talk, if he'd needed to speak with her so badly. So, putting down her book, she headed down the hall to find him, internally rolling her eyes at his inherent stubbornness.

The door to his bedroom was open just a crack, and she knocked lightly, opening it without waiting for a reply.

Sirius was horizontal on the bed, with his head thrown back, and his eyes clenched shut, hands knotted in the bedsheets. He was not dressed, and Hestia had her lips wrapped around… well, her mouth was… she was… Rosie couldn't even think about that particular method of sexual connection.

Her stomach lurched with nausea, and she let out an involuntary cry of disgust, as her throat tightened. Images of Lockhart came to the forefront of her mind: the feel of his hands in her hair, pushing her forward, forcing her to…

The taste of his leftovers, salty and bitter as she choked and spat them out, the feeling of not quite being able to tell if that was the flavor of whatever had come out of him, or a mixture of her own snot and tears.

She was going to be sick.

Hurtling back down the hall, Rosie barricaded the door, using Severus' spell, and latched onto a pillow from her bed, burying her face into it and tuning out the surrounding noise.

It felt so real, and she couldn't contain the anxiety. She needed help, because Rose was sure that she was about to have an outburst.

"K…Kreacher." Rosie called weakly.

The little elf appeared, and had nearly completed a bow before he realized how upset she was.

"Mistress is distressed." He noted. "There there mistress." Kreacher soothed, patting her back.

"Kreacher is here. Kreacher is not leaving his mistress."

 **AN- So currently I only have five votes on my poll, and the results are showing the death of Severus and Fred, lol. If that is not what you want, or it is, let me know in the poll or leave me a comment!**


	115. Chapter 115

**AN-I'm really sorry, I know that you all want them to be together like now, but I just don't think that that's realistic. I think that there's still a lot of ground to cover, and trust to earn before Rose and Sirius can actually move beyond angst ridden longing.**

Sirius heard Rosie shriek, but she was gone before he could stop her. His mind, which was only seconds ago, lost to the world, now returned with a sharpened clarity. Pushing Hestia off of him gently, Sirius backed up onto the bed and pulled his pajama pants up to cover himself again.

"Fuck." He cursed, dropping his head into his hands. It was no secret that Rose and Hestia were not comfortable with each other, despite Rosie's exhaustive efforts, and deep down he knew that she would be jealous.

She tried so hard to hide it, but he could tell, and Sirius didn't blame her. He had started it. Hell, it pissed him off every time Charlie Weasley showed up for an order meeting. He'd been taking liberties with her that he shouldn't, and had been putting in no real effort to stop, aside from using Hestia to get off.

Speaking of Hestia, her face had dropped into a glare as she crossed her arms and sat down on the bed.

"You don't even want me to finish you off?" She drawled.

"I can't, god, I've got to talk to her. Just, don't follow me, ok?"

"You know what, fuck you Sirius. You can't even cum in peace without that girl barging in. It's always Rose this, Rose that. She's taken over your life!"

He held up a hand to stop her. "Rose is my life." Sirius replied through gritted teeth before stalking out of the room and heading down the hall.

She was gone before he'd figured out how to unlock the door.

"Tell Kreacher what you is needing mistress." The little elf prodded, poking at her with one outstretched finger.

"I…I need Severus. C…can you take me to Severus?"

"Kreacher will bring his mistress to his mistress's Severus." The little elf latched a hand onto her pajama shirt and then snapped his fingers.

House elf magic was remarkable, and had Rosie not been utterly lost in her own mind, she would've appreciated how quickly Kreacher had fulfilled her request. Now, standing alone in Severus' bedroom, there seemed to be only one viable option.

She tried to quiet her sobs, crawling forward on the bed in the middle of the room, the soft sounds of her first guardian's breath a comfort in the confusion. Tucking herself beneath the blankets, Rose scooted closer to him, latching onto an arm and pushing her face into the indent of his shoulder.

Severus was startled awake by a sudden pressure on his right arm. He sat up immediately, and in a daze, looked for the source of the intrusion. It was Rose. He had no understanding of how she had managed to come into his house, up the stairs, and then to crawl into his bed without detection, but there she was.

The girl's whole body was shaking as she clung to him and she didn't appear aware of her surroundings.

"Rose. Child. What is the matter?" He asked, patting her back awkwardly, and trying with little success to shift her into a more comfortable position.

"P…please don't make me go back home. I want to live with you. Please Severus. I…I want to stay here."

"Hush Rose. Occlude. What happened?"

His charge shook her head with vigor and hid her face again, letting out another hiccoughing sob.

"I…I didn't want to. I n…never wanted to." She stuttered, and Severus began to feel uneasy.

Rose was obviously regressing to some previous trauma. There was no way that the wolf had allowed her to be re-victimized under his roof. Severus couldn't think of anything that Lupin could've done to make the girl feel uncomfortable living with him, so he assumed that whatever had upset her was Black's doing.

It was always Black's doing.

Unable to think clearly with the distraught girl draped across him, Severus leaned over and fished a vial of dreamless sleep from his nightstand, uncorking the stopper, and pressing it to her lips.

Rose typically did as she was told with him, and obediently, she opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her the potion. Severus watched as she swallowed, her sobs quieting and her body going limp beside him, head lolling to the side.

He waited until the dreamless sleep took effect entirely before settling her down in the bed and moving away, dressing with care, and heading down the stairs towards his fireplace. He placed a protective enchantment over the house to alert him if anyone else were to enter, and then stepped into the floo.

As predicted, Grimmauld place had descended into the same state of nervous chaos that it always seemed to each time that Rose vacated the premises sans warning.

Lupin had his arms raised offensively, mere feet from Black whose stance was defensive.

When Severus materialized in the kitchen, they both paused, and the wolf's face relaxed. "She's with you?"

"Indeed. I was forced to subdue her with a potion. The girl was hysterical, repeating that she no longer wishes to reside here."

"What the fuck? Look what you've done now!" Lupin growled, turning his anger back onto the mutt.

"I didn't do anything to her! She walked in on…" The man groaned, rubbing his face.

"Did my experience with this teach you nothing?! What would possess you to think that it was a good idea to do that with the door open? That's so bloody inappropriate!"

"I wasn't doing anything! Hestia was just…" He reddened, shifting uncomfortably. "Don't even try to tell me that Rose is an innocent flower whose never sucked a bloke off before!"

Severus, who was revolted by the turn of the conversation, froze. Apparently, the wolf had also made the connection, because he glanced over at the potion's master and grimaced.

"What?" Black growled, noticing their silent exchange.

"Sirius." The wolf began, rubbing at his temples.

"I didn't mean for it to come out like that." He grumbled. "I just meant that she's got no reason to be hysterical."

"It's not that…" Lupin continued cautiously. "You've not seen Rosie's Lockhart memories, so you probably didn't realize, but he was particularly aggressive with her when it came to that specific sexual act." The man cringed, forcing the words out.

"I have witnessed her dissociate at the mere mention of it." Severus added coldly.

Black's expression contorted in horror at the mental image. The emotions playing across his face as he went from realization, to disgust, ending with regret.

"She was scared?" He asked pitifully.

"The girl, in general, does not break into my home and crawl into my bed in the middle of the night when she is of sound mental state."

"You'd better fix this." Lupin threatened. "She'll stay with Severus tonight, and tomorrow you'll go over and bring her back here."

There was nothing more to be said as the wolf marched back up the stairs to his bedroom. The mutt avoided Severus' eyes before he too retired to his quarters to lick his wounds.

Severus returned home, and went to sleep in the guestroom, allowing Rose to use his bed for the remainder of the night.

The next morning, Rosie woke up with a headache. Due to whatever potion her guardian had given her last night, she only had a vague recollection of events, and the first emotion to settle in her gut was a heavy shame.

Sirius. She needed to see Sirius, to apologize to him for reacting the way she had, but even the mere thought of confronting him on his behavior made her blush and balk. Moaning groggily, Rose arose from Severus' bed, and wandered into the guest room, taking the time to brush her teeth and dress, before heading downstairs.

The potion's master was reading the paper on the sofa and looked up when she came down, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

"Did you talk to Moony?"

What Rose was really asking was whether Sirius knew why she had lost it.

"I payed a visit to Grimmauld place shortly after you fell asleep last night, and your mutt was not hesitant to detail the events that led up to your departure. Truthfully, I am surprised you did not leave a trail of sick along the corridors after witnessing such an atrocious display." He pulled a face, but his tone was strict as ever.

"I wish I wasn't so weak." She said, coming to sit next to him on the couch. "It's like I can still feel it though, like my throat closes and all I can taste is…nevermind."

"Nobody could or would blame you for feeling that way Rose."

"Still, it makes me seem like a child who can't forget something that happened almost four years ago."

He raised an eyebrow. "I assume that you do not shame Black when he relapses into old attitudes from Azkaban?"

"Well no but…"

"And is it still true that you send him a patronus nearly every night, even whilst at school… wholly for his own comfort?"

"Yes but…"

"Then please explain to me Rose, why Black should not afford you the exact same leniency in regards to your own past trauma."

Rose shrugged. "What did he say, when you talked to him?"

"As it stands, he seemed to be under duress with the knowledge that he had brought about such discomfort."

She grimaced. "I think I might want to stay here sir, but I'm worried about how Moony will take it."

"I urge you to speak with your mutt, when he comes to grovel, before making any such choice. As always, you are welcome to stay, but it is not my desire for you to lose time with your dogs because you are ashamed.

Rosie was surprised by how early Sirius showed up. He must not have slept she reasoned, because it was only nine by the time she'd heard the floo flare downstairs.

The guestroom was dark, with the blinds drawn, and she could only make out his silhouette in the doorframe. The was a long pause before he even tried to speak.

"Hey Rosie." The man prodded, crossing his arms.

"Siri." She greeted, still curled in on herself over on the bed.

He took her greeting as an invitation to sit down with her in the dark.

"So, I talked to Snape and Remus last night, and I guess I was sort of out of the loop on the whole um…Lockhart thing."

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault Sirius. It was my own stupid…"

"Hey." He growled. "It's not stupid. Nothing about that is stupid except maybe the part about me leaving the damn door open. I didn't even hear you knock."

"I wonder why." She harrumphed, rolling her eyes.

"Listen, Rose. Nothing is more important than you. Ok? Not my _ah_ , satisfaction, or anything else."

She cringed. "Then why did you ask to talk to me, and then change your mind and do that instead?"

"Ask to talk to you? What do you mean?" His brows furrowed in misunderstanding.

"Hestia came to my room and told me that you wanted to talk to me." Rosie reminded him, frustration seeping into her tone.

"She what?" His eyes widened in the darkness.

"She said _,_ 'Rose, Sirius wants to talk to you.'" Now Rose was irritated.

"Fuck." Siri cursed, running a hand through his hair. "I think she's jealous of you, and I think maybe it wasn't an accident that you walked in when you did." He admitted, and even in the blackness she could see that his face was pained.

"That's really mean." She exhaled, her body letting out an involuntary shiver as she remembered again what she'd walked in on the night before.

"I know, oh god. Yeah, I know Rosie." He mumbled, looking up, startled to hear the muffled sob that left her lips.

"I'm s…sorry, I just really don't like that kind of sex." Rose confessed weakly, allowing Sirius to pull her close, as she buried her face into his neck.

He drew circles on her back.

"Rosie, love. You know that I would never force you to…or pressure you into doing anything you didn't want to do right?"

"I know Siri." She whispered, closing her eyes against him.

"Are you sure? My behavior this summer has been totally inappropriate, the things I've been saying to you…"

"Sometimes I wish you would."

Sirius stilled, his hand knotting in the back of her shirt. "What? You don't mean that Rose."

"No, not really. Not the forcing me part, but I wish you wanted me like that."

She lifted her head, tongue darting out to wet her lips, only inches away from Siri's face.

He inhaled sharply.

"R…" He began, but she cut him off, leaning forward to press her lips gently against his.

It was light, and coaxing, and she leaned her forehead against his for support. The same electricity that had shocked her into awareness months ago, coursed through her veins, settling down in her heart.

Oh, she wanted this so badly.

"Please Siri." Rosie breathed, placing several softer kisses on his lips, his cheeks, and his eyes. "Please I just need…" She ran her hands up onto his chest, as he sat frozen, not stopping her, but not encouraging her either.

When her hands delved under his shirt, her ex-godfather sprang back to life, catching her wrists, and pulling her into a hug, which she was pretty sure was meant to prevent her from touching any more of him than she already had.

"Rosie. I can't. I can't sweetheart…not like this."

"Why Sirius? I don't understand what you want from me. You act like… but then you don't, and you leave and every time it hurts worse, so please tell me what you want." She begged, desperate for some kind of logic in this crumbling world.

"Can't you see Rose?" He exhaled loudly, pushing her off. "I want _you_."

"I want everything that you want, and more. I don't think you've even grasped how badly I want to…" Sirius hissed in frustration and shook his head.

Rosie sat dumbstruck before him. "You…"

"I want you." He repeated. "And I can never have you, and that is exactly how it should be."

In the ensuing silence, Rose found nothing to say. It was hard to comprehend everything that she'd just learned, but she knew that something of great importance had been said.

She let out a shaky breath and then scooted further away from Siri, crossing her arms over her chest and resting her head on her knees.

"We should go talk to Remus," said Sirius softly, after a while.

"Something we actually _should_ do." Rosie retorted, hearing how the feeling of emptiness that was spreading through her had tainted her voice.

Severus didn't ask when they came downstairs and neither provided any answers. Instead, they flooed over to Grimmauld to find Moony. Nerves churned in Rosie's belly when the reality of the impending conversation set it.

"What do you mean you're going to live with Severus?" Her godfather's face fell.

"Moony it'll just be for the rest of the summer. I already talked to Dumbledore. You can visit, and you can still give me lessons during the school year…"

"Rose, princess, what's going on? Please talk to me."

She glanced over at Sirius who was staring blankly at the wall.

"This is about him?" Moony interjected, and her ex-godfather snapped back to attention.

Rosie didn't say anything.

"That's it. Rose, we'll move back to the cottage. Sirius can stay here." His voice was commanding, with just a hint of desperation mixed in.

"No, Moony. That makes no sense. There're only a few weeks until school starts. You're still my guardian, and this is still my home, with you. I'll come back here for Christmas. I just need a break. Severus can tutor me for potions, which I have to take now anyways. It'll just be easier."

When Rosie packed her things and went back to Severus', Remus nearly exploded with pent up discontent.

"I let you be involved. I pushed her to get closer to you, and I've put up with so much of your bullshit Sirius. I want that woman out! No more Hestia, not while Rose still calls this her home."

His friend bowed his head. "Done. I won't be seeing her anymore. Remus, I swear she's not unhappy with you. It's something else."

"But you couldn't be bothered to tell me though. Nope, let's just leave Remus in the dark about his own daughter's welfare."

"She's safe, Moony. I swear, she's alright. She's not leaving, not really. It's only a break."

"Whatever Sirius. Just make yourself scarce." He sneered, stalking into the kitchen and grabbing and handful of floo powder.

The headmaster was in his office alone when the werewolf appeared, and he raised his head in curious acknowledgement at the new arrival.

"Remus, how are you doing my boy?"

Without even pausing to exchange pleasantries, he sat down across from the old wizard and placed his hands down on the desk, stretching his fingers anxiously.

"I want to take on more for the order." Remus stated, his tone determined.

"And your responsibilities to Rose?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"She's with Severus now for the rest of the summer, then she'll be at school. I'd like to go to the pack. She'll be alright without me."

"Are you sure about this my boy? I think perhaps you might be underestimating Rose's level of attachment to you. She's bound to worry."

"I'm not going to abandon her. I just want to feel more useful, and I'm the only one with a hope of getting the wolves to turn to the order."

"Very well. When were you planning to begin this mission of yours?"

"I'll leave September the first." He replied confidently.


	116. Chapter 116

Severus was currently engaged in more domestic work than he'd ever done before as he cooked breakfast and cleaned the house in preparation for Minerva's visit that day. Rose and the Weasley girl were still asleep upstairs in his guest room, though he was expecting the pair to wake up at any moment.

The deputy headmistress would be coming to call in order to discuss some changes within Rose's already planned out schedule. More specifically, the addition of NEWT potions.

It wasn't as though Severus doubted that Rose was capable of passing his regularly taught subject, he merely did not think it a necessary burden to place on her shoulders, and she'd clearly demonstrated that she did not care for potions as it was.

Already her grades were suffering due to the stress of the war, and he did not think it would be wise to add more strain, but Albus had insisted that it was critical for Rose to develop a close relationship with Horace Slughorn.

Of course, he would not reveal to Severus his reasoning, but he suspected that his charge already had some idea. She was taking the task quite seriously, which was not typical behavior for the girl.

In fact, she'd even asked him to conduct some remedial potions lessons for her in the coming weeks.

Startled out of his musings, Severus was surprised to note that the Weasley girl had come down the stairs alone, without Rose trailing behind her. Students did not often flock to spend time with him alone, in fact, he wagered a guess that Ginevra was the only one of Rose's friends who even felt somewhat comfortable holding a conversation with him.

He assumed that because she was more often than not Rose's closest female confidant, that she was more aware of his vulnerabilities than he'd like her to be, and therefore more relaxed around him despite his strict persona.

"Morning professor Snape." She yawned, taking a seat at the table.

"Good morning Ginevra." He greeted stiffly.

"You know, not even my own father calls me Ginevra. It's Ginny sir."

"Ginny." Severus conceded, attempting to quell a snide remark. Rose had enough on her plate without him antagonizing her friends.

"Did you find your sleeping arrangements agreeable?" He pressed awkwardly.

"I guess, but Rosie talks a lot in her sleep, so I tossed and turned most of the night."

He paused. "What has she said? As you are no doubt aware, Rose's dreams are often connected to the goings on of the war."

"It was something about Azkaban, but she was mostly mumbling."

Severus winced. She had more than likely been dreaming of the latest death eater prison breakout. Malfoy, Nott, Dolohov, and Pettigrew were among the freed this time around. It was front page news in the prophet that morning, and he was surprised that neither Lupin nor Black had come to break the story to her.

Perhaps they had already murdered him. That's how he would like to spend his Saturday morning he reasoned bitterly, explaining to Rose why her dogs were now in Azkaban themselves.

Severus unfortunately, had had a hand in the decision to break Pettigrew out of prison. He had shifted focus onto the rat as one of Rose's most hated villains to direct attention away from the fact that Gilderoy Lockhart was still a resident of Azkaban as well. _That_ , he concluded, would be the worst possible outcome, one that he was sure Rose hadn't even entertained.

Pettigrew was better. He was weaker, and he didn't think that the pitiful man held much power over the girl.

"Ginev-Ginny." He corrected. "I think it prudent to wake Rose, as there are several matters that I'd like to discuss with her this morning."

"Okay, I'll do that sir. Thanks for making breakfast." She smiled, unphased by his inability to make basic conversation with her.

By the time that breakfast had ended, Severus was relieved to ascertain that Pettigrew had been the right choice. Rose had furrowed her brows for a moment, and then continued to stir her eggs around on the plate.

"Ok. Thanks for telling me," was all that she'd said.

It was the Weasley girl in fact who took the news with more trepidation.

"Oh, please tell me he won't try to go live with another unsuspecting family!" The redhead whined.

"He'll probably stay close to the Dark Lord, right Severus?"

"Indeed. At this point, it would be unwise for Pettigrew to avoid the death eaters and he more than likely is aware of this. Though, intelligent choices do not run amongst the marauders."

He knew he'd gone too far when Rose narrowed her eyes into slits.

"I know you hate my dad and Sirius, but don't ever call Wormtail a marauder again."

"I apologize." Severus nodded in acceptance.

When breakfast was through, Rose sat by the fire partaking in a game of scrabble with the Weasley girl whilst awaiting Minerva's arrival. Severus abstained, favoring his lesson plans for Defense Against the Dark Arts. If one year was all he would be allowed in the subject, he intended on making it as productive as possible.

The students, incompetent as they were, deserved the chance to prepare themselves for the upcoming war, which would not discriminate.

Professor McGonagall arrived by apparition at half past eleven carrying several pieces of parchment and wearing her typical firm, but kind expression.

"Good morning Miss Potter, Miss Weasley."

"Hi Professor." Ginny grinned, and Rosie waved.

Unfortunately for Rose, the transfiguration professor came under the direction of Dumbledore, which meant that she was there to convince her to take as many classes as possible, 'the girl-who-still-might-live' mentality glaringly obvious.

The headmaster was far too optimistic on her behalf.

"Professor, not offense, but I'm already being forced into NEWT potions. Repeating fifth-year transfiguration wasn't really high on my list."

McGonagall smiled thinly. "I understand your concern Rose, but you've already scored an acceptable. All you would need is to achieve an exceeds expectations this year and then you would meet the requirement to enter the NEWT class."

"We could be in the same class." Ginny nudged her.

She sighed. "What would my schedule look like?"

The professor pulled out a piece of parchment.

 _Potions: Monday, Wednesday 9- 11:30_

 _Defense Against the Dark Arts: Monday, Wednesday 1- 3:30_

 _Arithmancy: Friday 8-12_

 _Care of Magical Creatures: Tuesday, Thursday 9-11:30_

 _Transfiguration: Tuesday, Thursday 1-3:30_

"I guess it's no more than I'd usually have. Fine." She sighed. "I'll do it."

Severus moved over to peek at the schedule from over her shoulder, and then squeezed it in support.

She knew he was more interested in getting her through the war than insisting she pass her classes.

"When will my lessons with you and Moony be?" Rosie turned to Severus then.

"You will have occlumency and _defense_ lessons with me on Friday nights. Your wolf however will be less predictable."

"What, why?" She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Well, how do you suppose he'll make it all the way to Scotland for lessons each week whilst up in the Wiltshire forest dear?" McGonagall asked her gently.

Rosie froze. "He'll be where?!" Her voice raised in pitch, and Rose could hear Severus let out a groan from behind her.

"Your godfather has chosen to support the order by making contact with some of the werewolf packs around England in an attempt to sway them to the light." He explained.

"What? No, he can't. He can't leave." She was beginning to panic. Rosie only had limited time with Moony and now he wanted to leave her.

"I thought he was my legal guardian. I thought he wasn't allowed to abandon me this time." Her tone came across as breathy and desperate.

"Why don't I escort Miss Weasley back to the Burrow. It appears that you two have some information to discuss." McGonagall suggested, and Severus made eyes contact with her and nodded.

"Rose. I need you to take several deep breaths and attempt to occlude your emotions." He began, standing in front of her.

"No, Severus, he can't. He said he wouldn't leave again. I trusted him."

"Child. Relax and think about what you are saying. Lupin is not abandoning you. He is simply going on a mission for the order. It is perfectly routine for a Hogwarts student to be without their parent in between September and Christmas. He will return for the holidays, and of course to care for you in the summer months."

"I have to go. I've got to talk to him." She started to assert, moving towards the fire.

"Rose Lily. I'd like you to sit down and take the time to think through what you intend to say to the man. The mission would be invaluable to the war effort." He ordered, and she obeyed with a scowl.

Rosie sat down on the couch and curled up with a pillow staring at the wall. This was just what she needed, more complications.

She stayed there for most of the day.

In the evening, Severus came down the stairs in a hurry, wearing his death eater robes and carrying his mask.

"You'll be spending the night at Grimmauld place Rose. Please floo there now."

Rose jumped as she turned around and caught sight of the robes and mask, before standing up and doing as she was told, unwilling to hold him up after witnessing the results of his last punishment.

"Be careful." She whispered, watching her first guardian leave through the front door.

Moony was in the sitting room when she landed back at home, a book in his lap and Kingsley next to him on the couch.

When she came through, he smiled. "Evening love. What are you doing here?"

"Severus got summoned." She replied tersely, avoiding his gaze and heading up to her room.

For effect, she slammed her bedroom door shut with a loud 'bang.'

Moony didn't come up to bother her all night, and it didn't take long before she was asleep.

This time Rose knew that she was a snake a lot quicker. She felt the cool marble beneath the scales on her belly and realized with a start that this was not going to be a good dream.

She rose up to watch, her head feeling oddly the same as the rest of her body, tasting the air with her tongue, which forked out in front of her.

Her master was speaking, and Rosie listened intently.

"Are you saying that you are unwilling to house Wormtail in your dwelling, Severus?"

"Unfortunately, my lord, as a double agent, I am often forced to interact with Sirius Black, who carries a substantial grudge against Pettigrew. I do believe that were he to be lodged with me, he would not survive a fortnight."

This time she was not inside Voldemort's head to stop him from torturing Severus, and his screams turned into hers as she shrieked and thrashed around in her bed.

Waking with alarm, Rosie sucked in a series of gasping breaths and clasped her hand over her scar, stopping to flow of blood that she knew would've begun the moment that she merged with the body of the snake.

The light came on in her room and Remus and Sirius both had come barreling in through the door.

"What is it?" Her ex-godfather looked around wildly, whilst Moony moved to still her.

Rose wrung her hands around the blankets, panting and blinking rapidly in an attempt to get rid of her headache.

"Severus. He's torturing Severus. Wants Wormtail…to live… at Spinner's end. Severus refused." Moony rubbed her back.

"Was Wormtail there? Was he with Voldemort?" Siri interjected.

"Quiet Padfoot. It doesn't matter where he is."

"I want to go back to Spinner's end." Rosie wriggled around her godfather. "I'll get Severus' potions ready.

"Well, you're not going alone." Moony sighed, getting up from the bed and making a move to follow her.

"It's fine. I'll just be preparing myself for your _departure._ " She sneered, turning away from him.

"I told you she'd be pissed." Sirius informed him as Rose left.

Still in her pajamas, Rosie stepped into the flames and headed back to her current home base.

Moony stumbled through right after her and stalked ahead into the potion's master's lab.

"I don't know why you're doing this." Rose glared, taking the red potion from her godfather's hand. "Red is for pepper-up, green for Cruciatus."

"Yet you still didn't scrape by with an acceptable in potions." He smirked teasingly.

"Stop ignoring me Remus." She hissed. "Why are you doing this? Is it because I'm staying with Severus?"

"Rose. Honey, I'm not punishing you. I'm doing what's best for the order."

"What about what's best for me?" Her voice broke. "I thought I would still get to see you."

"What's best for the order is what's best for you, and since you won't let me help you complete your task, I will complete mine, and do what is in _my_ power to keep you safe."

"Moony…"

"Princess, look. At the end of the day, I trust Sirius. I may be cross with him, but I wholeheartedly trust him to keep you safe, and to do what's right and I respect your decision and your reasoning behind partnering with him in your mission. Now, please respect mine."

"I'm just really gonna miss you." She confessed, gathering all the potions that Severus would need in her arms.

"I'll really miss you too, but I hope you know that everything that I'm doing is for you, and that if anything happens, if you need me, I'll come back."

"How will I contact you?"

"Well, it'll be safer for you to write Kingsley, and he can pass the letter on through a neutral third party, but Sirius nicked your mirror yesterday and we duplicated his and connected it to yours, so you can call that, but only in an emergency."

"And you'll be back for Christmas?"

"Of course, I will. Don't worry, it's not a very dangerous mission. I'm already a werewolf, what more could they do?" He smirked.

"You're lucky that Severus already put me in time-out today to sort out my thoughts and actions." She glared.

"Poor Severus seems to think that you'll perpetually be twelve-years-old." Moony kissed her head, following her into the sitting room to await the aforementioned man.

He was injured, but not gravely as he had been the last time. It seemed to mostly be spasms from the Cruciatus. At first, he looked irritated that she'd disobeyed him, and uncomfortable to once again find Moony in his house, but after some persuasion, he lay down on the sofa and allowed her to feed him potions, looking each one over with skeptical eyes before downing it.

"I was Nagini tonight." Rose informed him, unfazed by his clenched jaw and widened eyes. "But I think I pulled out when you were being tortured. I really don't like watching, or maybe it was because snakes can't scream, and I was definitely screaming."

"Woke the whole house up." Moony added with a grimace.

Severus exhaled deeply, and leaned his head back onto the arm of the couch, closing his eyes. Apparently, he wasn't in the mood for banter.

A few days passed uneventfully. Severus helped her with brewing, which she still found boring, but she was putting in more effort, and even her guardian seemed to enjoy himself as he watched her learn.

They'd covered all the major second-year potions and had begun to tackle third year that day, but settled down to dinner for a break.

The potion's master sat down at the table, where she had served him a helping of potatoes and chicken, when he cleared his throat and fished something out of his robes. His eyes crinkled in a way that she only typically saw when he was about to be vulnerable.

"Rose, Albus has informed me that your relationship with Horace is of utmost importance. For that reason, I'm inclined to aid you in every way possible to excel in my discipline."

"I know Severus, I really appreciate all the work you're putting into tutoring me."

"Not only that child. I've located a book that I think you will find most useful." He offered it up to her.

Rosie glanced at it, and realized that she already had this book. It was the NEWT potions text that Slughorn had assigned, but it was more than a little bit worn out.

She took it carefully, and opened the front page.

 _This book is property of the Half-Blood Prince._ It read.

Squinting curiously, she flipped to the first potion listed. It was the Draught of Living Death. Inside the margins of the print was a smaller, familiar scrawl with alternate instructions to the ones provided.

This was Severus' personal textbook from his own sixth year.

Forever sentimental, Rose felt her eyes grow wet. "My first family heirloom." She croaked, fanning her face with her hand.

Severus appeared to be touched by her reaction, but unwilling to admit it. "I assure you that if you follow these simpler instructions, you will achieve top grades in Slughorn's NEWT potions."

"Thanks sir." Rosie continued to look through the pages.

"Any spells that you encounter in this book should not be used without first consulting me. Do you understand?"

"Oooh, is your Sectumsempra in here? How's Nott?"

The potion's master appraised her with a vaguely amused expression.

"He is coping… though learning to cast with one's other hand is often a time-consuming task."

"That's what you get when you fight alongside Crabbe I guess." She shrugged.

Severus let out a snort. "Despite Albus's reproach, I do commend you for the use of that particular spell. It was… well timed."

"Why thank you sir." She took a little bow, grinning again as she looked down at the book.

"What is the Half-Blood Prince? Is that like your marauder nickname?"

"You could say that." But he wrinkled his nose in distaste at the comparison. "It was more a testament to my heritage, when such things still mattered."

Rose tilted her head in question.

"My mother was called Eileen Prince. She was a pure-blood witch descended from the Prince family, which is older than even the Malfoys. At one time, this distinction was important to me."

"Did you ever meet anyone on that side?"

"No. My mother was disinherited, much like your mutt, when she married a muggle."

"What did you…?" She began, but was cut off by a sharp knock at the door.

Rosie stilled, and Severus looked up quickly, placing his finger over his lips to shush her, and then pointing up the stairs without a word.

Doing as she was told, she crept across the carpet, watching as Severus cleared away their food and dishes before heading over to answer the door.

Normally, Rose would not disobey a direct order from her first guardian, especially when it seemed that he was justified in making it, but she had brought the invisibility cloak over a couple days ago and was itching to know who had come to call.

So, she, daughter of Prongs, pulled the cloak over her body and slowed her breathing, moving down the stairs with the utmost care, and settling into a corner in the sitting room.

Her heart almost leapt out of her chest at the sight of Bellatrix Lestrange standing in the middle of Severus' house. Beside her, was a woman who looked very familiar. She was quite attractive, blonde, and she clung to Bellatrix, obviously tense.

"I…I know I ought not to be here." The blonde woman spoke with a stutter. "The dark lord himself forbade me to speak of this."

"If the dark lord has forbidden it, you ought not to speak." He raised an eyebrow at her, and then turned his attention to Bellatrix, who was groping at some sort of decal piece on Severus' mantle.

"Put it down Bella. We mustn't touch what isn't ours."

The woman glare, shoved the object back onto the shelf and rolling her eyes. She behaved in a distinctly childlike manner, which was a stark contrast to the woman who had been about to murder Sirius only a few months before.

"As it so happens…" Severus began again, "I am aware of your situation Narcissa."

Narcissa Malfoy? This was Draco's mother. Rosie felt a rush of sympathy for the woman. Anyone married to Lucius deserved that in her opinion.

"You?" Bellatrix hissed. "The dark lord told you?"

"Your sister doubts me. Over the years I've played my part well." Her guardian raised an eyebrow, his voice cool and unquestioning. He really was an expert liar.

"So, well in fact, that I've deceived one of the greatest wizards of all time." Severus continued and Bellatrix gasped.

"Dumbledore is a great wizard. Only a fool would deny it."

"I don't doubt you Severus." Mrs. Malfoy pandered.

Rosie wanted them to keep talking. She was curious about the Malfoy's predicament, what with Lucius out of Azkaban now.

"You should be honored Cissy, as should Draco!" The other witch sneered, bypassing her sister, and looking directly at the spot where Rose sat under the cloak.

She shivered, but did not move, her attention fixed now on Severus and Narcissa. What did Draco have to do with this? He was only a student.

"He's just a boy." The blonde woman echoed her sentiment.

"I can't change the dark lord's mind, but it might be possible for me to help Draco."

"Severus…" Mrs. Malfoy rose, a unique kind of desperation on her face that she'd only ever before seen on Moony.

"Swear to it." Bellatrix interrupted immediately. "Make the unbreakable vow."

Rose wasn't entirely sure that she knew what an unbreakable vow was, but she was pretty sure she didn't want Severus to make it.

"It's just empty words. He'll give it his best effort, but when it matters most, he'll just slither back into his hole, a coward." She taunted, coming to rest her chin on the potion's master's shoulder.

Her chest tightened with unease. She wished that she hadn't decided to eavesdrop. Whatever this was seemed like something that was both outside of her ability to help, and would only serve to increase her anxiety.

"Take out your wand." Severus commanded, holding out his left arm.

She thought that maybe they were going to do something with his dark mark, but instead, Narcissa Malfoy inhaled sharply, and stuck out her right hand, clasping at her guardian's forearm with her own painted fingers.

Bellatrix guided her wand above their arms, and three spirals of light appeared, encircling them like thin rings of fire.

"Will you, Severus Snape, watch over Draco Malfoy, as he attempts to fulfill the dark lord's wishes?"

"I will." He replied without hesitation.

"And will you, to the best of your ability, protect him from harm?"

"I will."

"And if Draco should fail, will you yourself, carry out the deed the dark lord has ordered Draco to perform?"

"I will." Severus stated with finality, as the bands of the spell closed in around he and Narcissa, what she could only assume was an act that cemented them.

Both women stared at him in shock for a moment before Bellatrix wrapped Narcissa in an embrace, her eyes gleaming maliciously at Rosie's guardian.

Then, as if Severus just could not survive without making a sharp remark, he raised an eyebrow. "Do attempt to contain your husband from here on out Narcissa. It is difficult to gain the Potter girl's trust whilst my associates continue to molest her on a regular basis. Though I suppose, like father, like son."

Draco's mother cringed and ducked her head, as though the very thought of either her son, or her husband touching Rose was unimaginable. She resisted the urge to snort, and waited until they were gone for several minutes before pulling off the cloak.

Severus' head snapped up to look at her, and his eyes seemed to bore deep into her skull.

"Insolent child." He growled, before sitting down heavily and rubbing his face with his hands.

Rose didn't ask. She didn't want to cause him anymore stress. Dumbledore or Draco would tell her later she reasoned. Instead, Rosie came over to him, and sat down, leaning her head against his shoulder, and pulling him close.

She could tell he was really stressed, because he relaxed into her touch and closed his eyes, allowing her to comfort him.

After Severus had gone to bed that night, Rose snuck back to Grimmauld through the floo and maneuvered her way up the stairs. She didn't bother knocking, not wanting to wake Moony, as she sidled into Sirius' bedroom.

Closing the door behind her, Rosie leapt onto the bed, landing heavily on her ex-godfather's sleeping form.

"Wa? Rose? What the…?" He tried to sit up but she had him pinned.

"Wake up Siri. You're on secret keeper duty."

"Rosie what are you…?"

"I have to tell you what happened tonight." She revealed, rolling off of him to lay beside.

He sat up and groaned. "You're so dramatic."

"You're such a git Sirius Black." Rosie rolled her eyes, proceeding to recount the impromptu meeting at Spinner's end, and the mysterious task that had been set out for Draco. She left nothing out, figuring that this would be a good test of his promise to her.


	117. Chapter 117

Sirius cradled Rosie's sleeping body in his arms mulling over the information that she'd given him that night, the way that her brows had furrowed with concern as she spoke about the Malfoy boy's mysterious orders and Snape's unbreakable vow.

She'd asked him to wake her in half an hour, that she only wanted to rest her eyes and then she'd head back to Spinner's end, but at least twenty minutes had passed and Sirius was reluctant to give up this small, intimate moment with Rose. It was rare now that they had time alone, which wasn't clouded by awkward side glances, and tense silence.

Now _, well_ , most recently anyways, it seemed to be Rose's intention to convince him to abandon all of his morals.

If he hadn't been clear of her feelings before, he was now.

It had been terrible judgement on his part, to reveal to her his own feelings as he had only a few days ago. There had been no word of a lie in his statement to her, but things were different now.

Rosie was complicated. She was very like he had been before Azkaban. Her idea, or her main concept of relational intimacy was based largely around sex. Sirius understood this, though he didn't think that Rose quite realized that it was possible to have a non-sexual relationship, and still be intimate. Hell, he wasn't sure he even really understood how to go about that.

Rose was a touchy person by nature. There wasn't a day that she didn't hang off Remus, or rest her head on Snape's shoulder. Some of his first memories with her, as a dog, where she had held him and stroked his back; those were the thoughts that he used whilst practicing his patronus. Naturally, she would be of the opinion that sexual intimacy would be the singular element that could put her relationship with him up onto another level.

The problem was, that with him, she was confusing basic next level physical intimacy and sex. She wanted him to give in to her, because that would be a sign that she had him.

She was truly horrible with boundaries, but then again, so was he.

It wasn't that he didn't want… _well,_ he wasn't necessarily allowing himself to think about sex with Rose at this point, but it wasn't as though the idea was unappealing to him, in fact it was far too much of the opposite.

But he couldn't, and that was clear. Sirius had a distant vision of a future in which the war was over, and Rosie was a bit older, and Remus' eyes wouldn't flash amber with rage when he looked at them. Snape's disgust would still be present of course, but it would be manageable.

James, well maybe if she were older James would forgive him when they were eventually reunited in death. Probably not, but it was worth a shot.

The point was that Sirius didn't need to have sex with Rose. This was enough, for now anyways. He wanted to hold her, and have her with him, and he wanted her away from those other dickheads who she was so fond of prancing around with.

He groaned and laid back against the headboard. Who was he kidding? He wanted to be with his goddaughter and there was no way to skirt around it. Sirius thanked Merlin that she'd be going back to school in only two short weeks. He did not think that he'd be able to hold out on her any longer than that.

The only thing he could do the last time she'd cornered him over at Snape's was freeze.

If only she'd come to him in a different way: if she wasn't so fucking young, or if she hadn't been born as James' daughter.

Merlin, James.

Deep down, he knew that his best friend was the reason that all of this was happening the way it was. Sirius was still desperate with grief over his long-time best friend, someone who had been more of a brother to him than his own, and Rosie, well, he was certain that this was all part of her father problem.

He had been deprived of any sort of closeness or affection for twelve years in Azkaban, and during that time, she'd been just, brutally abused.

Every part of this screamed bad idea when he started to think too much about it, so he didn't think. He just sat there and held her, enjoying the last ten minutes that remained.

Sirius sat with her for fifteen, five extras, and then slowly began to jostle her awake, head shifting, and her face burying deeper into his chest as she stretched.

"Mmm. Can't I just stay?" She muttered.

"I don't think so Prongslet, Rose of my life." He ruffled her hair.

Rosie yawned and then extended her bare leg over his lap provocatively, her pajama shorts riding up. "Are you sure?"

Reacting with haste, Sirius resumed a sitting position, and nearly picked her up, placing her upright on the bed, and coming to sit on his knees next to her.

"Nope. No way. No tempting me into sin tonight kid." He teased, wondering if perhaps humor was the key to navigating this new territory with Rose.

To his relief, it worked. She snorted and then stood up. "Fine, guess I'll just have to go stimulate myself then."

Rose watched his eyes widen in recognition of Snape's words to her, and then burst into a fit of giggles.

"Night… Siri." The impossible girl choked out in between breaths.

'Well _there_ ,' he thought. They'd spent alone time together, and it had been almost appropriate, not really, but more appropriate than sex anyways, which at this point seemed to be where the bar was set.

For the first time in fifteen years, Sirius hoped that wherever he was, James Potter could not see him now.

Rosie hadn't been allowed to go to Diagon Alley herself to get her school things. Instead, Kingsley and Moony had gone and done her shopping early, which Moony'd paid for, so, she didn't get to see Ron or Hermione until the train.

Her two friends, who had made head boy and girl respectively, had to attend the prefects meeting before they could join her, and Ginny boarded in order to save a spot, whilst Rosie said her customary long, tearful goodbye to her godfather and Sirius.

This year, it was especially heartbreaking, because she knew that she wouldn't see either of them until Christmas.

"Don't do anything dangerous." Rosie mumbled into Moony's shoulder and he sniffed, obviously fighting to restrain his own emotions.

"That goes for you too. Listen to Severus, and call Sirius or write to Kingsley if you need anything. Remember the mirror for emergencies. I love you baby." He kissed her forehead.

"Love you too." She choked out, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Moony backed off, and pursed his lips before apparating away. They had agreed in the morning that he would leave quickly, so that there wasn't too much time to dwell on things. Rose watched him go and then turned to Sirius who tried to make her smile by poking at her sides.

Rosie shot him a pitiful glare before leaping forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. He picked her up and spun her around like he'd always enjoyed doing and then set her down.

"Listen to Remus' advice. Don't do anything or _anyone_ dangerous this year."

She hit his chest. "Siri! Draco and I don't even speak anymore."

"I know, I know, it's just some friendly advice!"

Scoffing, Rosie twirled her hair, fidgeting as the tension built itself around them.

"I love you Sirius. I really love you, and I hope you know that you can call me if you need, ok? Day or night, I'll have the mirror with me, don't worry about the time. I know how lonely you get."

He grimaced and then nodded. "Same to you Prongslet. You call anytime."

"If there comes a time when I need to talk to you in person, you'll come right? Secret keeper stuff I mean…"

"Faster than you can say Expecto Patronum." Siri nodded.

"Kay. One last thing." She whispered, bringing her lips closer to his ear. "You have my blessing to do whatever, or _whoever_ makes you happy, yeah?"

"Rosie…" He started.

"Just as long as you think of me when you do it!" She added, squealing with laughter, and turning her back on him as she collected her trunk and took off toward the train.

This time, she'd rather leave his reaction up to her own imagination.

Hauling her trunk into the undercarriage of the train, Rose turned around only to come face to face with Narcissa Malfoy, who seemed to be just about as caught-off-guard as she was.

The woman blinked at her, her face a careful mask of stoicism. Her eyes flicked upward to her scar, and then Narcissa met her eyes for the briefest of moments.

"Mrs. Malfoy." Rosie ducked her head politely before making a break for it to the right.

The woman clasped her hand lightly around her wrist as she made to leave and whispered,

"Rose."

She whipped around to looked at Draco's mother, resisting the urge to yank her hand away. Narcissa looked around to make sure that nobody was watching and then said,

"I am sorry, for my husband's behavior."

"Rosie pulled her hand away and raised her arms in surrender. "I know. It's not your problem."

She glanced around again and if it possible, her tone dropped further.

"Draco is not like his father."

"I know that too Mrs. Malfoy. I won't forget." Rose reassured, before turning away. She didn't want to draw to much attention.

Looking behind her, she saw Sirius with his arms crossed and his eyes trained on Narcissa who regarded him with the barest of nods. Of course, he wouldn't leave until she was safe on the train.

It was strange to think that they were cousins.

When he broke eye contact with the other woman, he turned back to her and she could see the question in his eyes.

Instead of returning to answer, Rosie pulled the communication mirror from her pocket, flashed it at him, and mouthed 'later,' as she climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express.

Ginny had saved a carriage for them, and she was chatting animatedly with Neville, who seemed to have grown a lot over the summer, she'd almost done a double take at the sight of him.

If her best friend didn't already have her eyes set on the Longbottom heir, Rose might've taken Severus' advice an tried someone appropriate for a change.

Just a few weeks previous, Ginny had broken it off with the handsome Dean, which was why she'd been over the night before McGonagall's visit to Spinner's end. Her friend wasn't particularly cut up about the whole thing, and from what Rose could tell, Dean took it a lot harder.

Neville, who had stopped by the burrow with his grandmother at one point or another in those last three weeks, had been the subject of gossip between the two girls for nearly the entire night.

"Morning Gin, morning Neville." Rosie greeted, sitting down opposite them.

"Hey Rose!" The boy grinned, and Ginny waggled her eyebrows behind him.

"Whatcha talking about?"

Her friend dropped her face into a forlorn expression. "How sad I am about Dean." She replied heavily.

Little Slytherin. Rose thought as she fought to suppress a smirk. "You're too good for him," was her automatic response.

"I agree. It's sad when someone isn't able to appreciate what's right in front of them." Neville frowned, paying obvious attention to Ginny and playing right into her dramatics.

"Are you seeing anyone Rose?" The boy asked conversationally.

Ginny snorted. "Not unless you count pining after Sirius Black."

"Ginevra!" She growled. "We're not talking about that to _other people_."

Neville's mouth hung open in shock.

"Sirius Black? But isn't he your godfather? And isn't he like fifty?"

" _Ex_ -godfather." Rose simpered. "And he's thirty-six. He went to school with our parents."

"Is she serious?" He whispered to Ginny.

"Unfortunately." The redhead eyed her with exasperation, but love is love I suppose."

"I guess…" He trailed off, sounding unsure.

" _Anyways,_ how was your summer Neville?"

The trio continued to chat about the summer and the upcoming year, and Rosie warned the Gryffindor boy about Severus' appointment as defense professor. He was not impressed, and she didn't blame him. The potions master was so rotten to Neville.

When Ron and Hermione returned to find them, they looked so incredibly sweet in their matching head badges that even Ginny fawned over the pair.

It made Rosie think of her parents, and she made a mental note to ask Siri to look through Moony's photos to see if he could find one of James and Lily together as head boy and girl. That would give him something to do at least.

When their initial conversations died, she got up to stretch her legs and roam the train for a while, taking a peek into each compartment she passed, keeping an eye out for Draco.

She spotted him in a compartment down near the end, along with Crabbe, Goyle, the Greengrass girls, and Blaise Zabini. Pansy was mysteriously absent. Rosie wondered if they had broken up. She wouldn't be surprised. Malfoy would make a positively wretched boyfriend.

Pretending to be very interested in the snack trolley, which was making its rounds near that end, Rose continued to watch as the blonde boy snapped at Crabbe, who had said something that he found displeasing.

Suddenly, he looked up, and his eyes met hers, just as his mother's had earlier for only a moment, and then he let them drop, giving no hint to the others that he'd seen her.

She wondered if he was still going to be cruel to her like he had been last year. It would make more sense, if he were leaning more towards death-eater-ism, or if Merlin forbid, he'd already joined.

Though, from her brief conversation with Mrs. Malfoy earlier, Rosie gathered that she was still under the impression that a tentative alliance with the 'chosen one' would benefit Draco, which told her that Narcissa believed there to still be hope.

Curiosity wasn't a sin, but it was still bound to get Rose in trouble where Malfoy was concerned this year. Shaking her head, she wandered back down the length of the train and into the compartment once more.

After dinner that evening, she wrote two separate letters and ran up to the owlery to post them right away.

 _Dear Moony,_

 _Wherever you end up tonight, I hope it's warm and that you have access to copious amounts of chocolate. Hope you've arrived safely, and that you write me as soon as possible to tell me what it's like._

 _All my love,_

 _Rosie_

That one, she attached to the leg of a particularly sturdy looking tawny owl and addressed to Kingsley before sending it off. Then she scrawled out the customary within Hogwarts postage signature and tied the other one to a smaller bird.

 _Severus,_

 _Narcissa Malfoy cornered me at King's Cross station today and apologized for Lucius' behavior, and then started to tell me how different Draco is from his father. Maybe you should warn her about being more subtle. Not saying I like her or anything, but I do empathize. Anyone married to Lucius Malfoy has to be wicked tolerant. Anyways, see you in defense tomorrow._

 _Rosie_

Severus scowled down at the letter from his charge and rubbed his temples. He understood the urgency and the desperation of Narcissa's situation, but to reach out to Rose of all people in such a public venue was unacceptable. Was it not enough for her that Severus himself was under oath to protect the boy?

He contemplated his next move very carefully before he made it and then crafted his own letter.

 _Dear Narcissa Malfoy,_

 _This is an automatic letter to request your presence with Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to discuss your son/daughter Draco Malfoy's academic performance. Please reply with a confirmation or refusal to meet at precisely 11 AM in the Headmaster's office on September 2_ _nd_ _._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall_

Charming the letter to appear real, so that any suspicious company at Malfoy manor would not notice anything astray, Severus attached the parchment to the school owl that Rose had sent and watched the bird fly out of his office and towards the nearest window.

The ball was now, as they say, out of his court and into hers.

Rosie's last activity that evening involved a silencing charm and her two-way mirror as she told Sirius all about what Narcissa had said, and then laughed as he regaled her with stories from their combined childhood.

Her ex-godfather said in no uncertain terms that Rose shouldn't be getting herself involved in Malfoy affairs, that it was enough to simply listen and pass on the information, but he never told her what to do. Sirius always let her decide.

She'd made a list of activities that she feigned needing done with urgency and by the time Rosie had finished asking, the man was grinning doggishly at her, and promising to get them done the next day. Unfortunately, finding a head boy and girl picture of her parents, buying more hair clips, sending her best wishes to Kreacher, looking in on Kingsley, and mailing her the extra quills she'd forgotten were all quite simple requests that wouldn't take him more than tomorrow to complete.

It was going to be difficult to keep Siri busy and distracted whilst she and everyone else was gone. She was worried about him, not wanting to see the man spiral into another depression. Since he'd stopped seeing Hestia, he'd barely left the house.

They said their goodbyes for the night and Rosie cast her patronus, sending it off and laying back down in her bed. She'd sort things out with Severus and Malfoy the next day she decided, drifting off into a deep and uninterrupted sleep.


	118. Chapter 118

**AN- I know that you guys can tell when I'm on days off from work because I update like a psycho.**

Severus was apprehensive the next morning before his meeting with the headmaster and Narcissa Malfoy. Of course, Narcissa had no idea that Severus would even be in attendance. Though Albus had pointed out that it did seem rather suspicious to call a review of academic performance before classes had even begun.

It had been a minor lapse in judgement that he hoped the woman would not pay much attention to. Severus had been on edge since the unbreakable vow that he'd made to protect the Malfoy boy.

Of course, he'd already known that Albus was dying, having administered emergency potions to the old wizard himself after the fact, and he'd known about Draco's task set out by the dark lord as punishment to Lucius. However, killing Albus himself was highly aversive.

As Severus had told Rose on several occasions; his soul was sacrificial. He would do what was necessary for the war effort, but he had not anticipated the relationship that he had forged with Rose Potter to become so undeniably important to him.

Reasonably, he knew that his actions were for her, and were intended to aid in her survival. Helping Draco Malfoy was by extension a helping hand to Rose, and killing the headmaster himself would solidify his position within the death eaters.

He would be trusted above all others, and therefore, could pass information in much more detail along to the order and to the girl.

What caused him the greatest deal of anxiety was Rose herself. He refused to make her fret and worry over the knowledge of Albus' impending death, and he surely could not reveal to her his intention to aid in the suicide. Rose would be inconsolable. So, it had to be a secret.

In carrying through with this task, he would lose her, and Severus willed himself to make that compromise in exchange for her safety. Still, it was an acutely painful thought.

Narcissa Malfoy arrived at exactly one-minute past eleven, in true pureblood fashion. She was dressed conservatively, in a floor length black cloak, and Severus had known the woman long enough to see that she was both suspicious and hopeful behind her stoic façade.

"Severus." She breathed, eying Albus uncomfortably.

"Good morning Mrs. Malfoy." The headmaster smiled benignly.

"Dumbledore."

Once the gargoyle was firmly back in place, Severus stood ramrod straight, and braced himself for the potential consequences of his actions.

"This is not about my son's academic performance, is it?" She commented coolly.

"Narcissa." He began with confidence. "Rose Potter informed me of your confrontation on the platform at King's Cross Station."

"I would hardly call it a confrontation."

"Conversation then, shall we say."

"It was not my intention to frighten the girl." Narcissa added stiffly, her mind working to understand which side he was playing in this meeting

"But it was your intention to deliver a personal message to Potter, or was it not?"

Something flashed behind her eyes.

"Not to worry Mrs. Malfoy. This is not a formal interrogation." Albus informed her.

"I would do…anything to protect my son." She stated slowly.

"Even at the expense of the dark lord and his cause?" Severus asked.

"What is this Severus?"

"We are here to offer Draco an out, Narcissa." Albus addressed her by her first name this time.

The regal woman stared at the potions master like she'd never seen him before.

"I thought…"

"You thought wrong. My loyalty has been and always will be to Rose Potter, and the Order of the Phoenix." He revealed; his face still carefully neutral.

Her eyes widened. "And Draco's task?"

"Will be carried out by Severus." Albus interjected. "Draco will make several failed attempts, and Severus will step in to finish the job. He will then escort Draco to a safe house, most likely the home of someone in the order, where he will wait out the war."

"It will appear as though he has been taken as a hostage." Severus elaborated, "so there should be no excessive retribution."

"And if I refuse?" She questioned him warily.

"Then you will be obliviated and sent on your way, but if you agree, then you have my word, as I have taken my vow, that no harm will come to Draco." He assured her; his tone smooth.

"You are already under oath to protect my son. How will this be different?"

"The order." Severus replied. "When I kill Albus Dumbledore, I will lose their faith. My protection alone will not keep the boy from the dark lord. The order will not turn Draco away if instructions are left, by Albus, for his continued care."

"Where will he stay?"

"Most likely with Rose Potter and her guardians, at the order's principle safe house. It is given every manner of protection possible and it would be impractical for the dark lord to pursue its location."

"What will you ask of me in return?"

"Your word, that if it comes down to Rose Potter, and the dark lord, that you will aid Potter in every manner in which you are capable."

"Done." Narcissa nodded.

"I trust that you will be capable of occlusion, were the dark lord to attempt legilimency."

"Of course."

Albus cleared his throat. "You must refrain from sharing this knowledge with Draco, Mrs. Malfoy. He must fully believe that it is his fate to murder me. Do you understand?"

"You have my word."

Rosie was disappointed when she arrived at her first NEWT potions class and realized with finality that Slughorn was going to let her in through the door, despite her failing grade on her OWL.

Hermione and Ron were both in the class as well, but the only other person that Rose was very familiar with was Malfoy, and she wasn't going to sit with him. Instead, Ron chose to sit next to Seamus, so that Rose could sit with his girlfriend.

The professor introduced himself, and then just as Severus had told her he would do, he began the lesson with sampler sized portions of several very rare potions.

The first one was clear like water, and contained in a tiny phial, suspended in the air.

Rosie knew what that one was, so she put up her hand when the professor asked.

Hermione raised her eyebrow.

Slughorn called on Rose. "That's Veritaserum." She grimaced.

"Yes! Very well done my girl. Can you name two of the major components of Veritaserum?"

"Er, moonstone powder, and valerian root, or Valeriana in most apothecaries."

"Marvelous. Truly marvelous. Do you know the difference between valerian root and Valeriana?"

She nearly sighed. This teacher's pet thing was exhausting. Rosie didn't know how Mione did it.

"Valerian root is a natural herb, and Valeriana is a synthetic version that is easier and cheaper to come by. I have a Valeriana intolerance, so that's how I know."

"Oh dear, I can only imagine what that must be like." He frowned. "Can you give me some examples of other potions, which may or may not include Valeriana as a substitute for valerian root?"

"Er… Pepper up, and emergency contraceptive potion." Rose tried to hide her smirk.

Somebody, probably Malfoy, snorted from the other side of the crowd.

"Ah. Yes. Well, yes you are right." Slughorn appeared flustered by her answer. "Very good Miss Potter. I knew that you would excel in my class. Now, can anyone tell me what this next one is?"

Hermione answered. Apparently, the subsequent potion was Amortentia: the most powerful love potion in the world. Mione said that is was supposed to smell differently to everyone according to what attracts them.

Every girl in the room, including her, lined up for a chance to catch a whiff of it. Rosie inhaled deeply and she was startled to find that the first scent she encountered was that of sweet cologne and herbs. Her mind instantly went to Cedric, and it felt like a little pin had pricked her heart.

Luckily, the scent changed, moving into a deeper, richer cologne that she recognized as Sirius', and then it changed once more into the particular musky, strong smell that always followed a Padfoot transformation.

Rosie shivered.

The very last potion that the professor presented them with was one that she didn't recognize at all. It was gold, of all colors, and thick like syrup.

Liquid luck, or Felix Felices, is what he'd called it. One sip, and the drinker finds that all their endeavors are successful, at least until it wears off.

That would be the prize for the student who brewed the best, most accurate version of the Draught of Living Death.

Severus had taught her in steps how to brew it only a few days before, because he knew that it would be the first potion that Slughorn would have them do, and he knew she needed to make a good impression. He'd even written new annotations among the already full textbook that were specifically tailored to her ability-not-ability.

Her guardian did not take his responsibilities lightly, and Rosie felt like a cheat as she followed his instructions to the most minute detail.

By the end of the class, she'd outdone even Hermione, and she was sure that he new found potions ability would wane after this class. Severus had only taught her the living death. He hadn't gotten around to giving her step by step easy instructions for any of the others.

Slughorn was very impressed though, which was the point, and Rosie walked away with a vial of Felix Felices to save for whatever desperate moment she'd find herself in down the road.

She considered using it for something stupid, or giving it to Severus, but decided to hold onto it instead. There always seemed to be some sort of emergency, and now, this year, the war only seemed to be ramping up. Surely, there was a use for such a potion outside the confines of school life.

Defense class was odd.

It reminded her uncomfortably of second year, which her guardian must not have realized, as he pulled both Rosie and Draco up to the front to do a demonstration duel. It occurred to her only then, that Severus had never seen her fight, and that this was his intention.

He wanted to see how she stood up against a death eater, _well_ , the closest comparison to a death eater than he could get in NEWT defense class.

It was rare that she felt any sense of competitiveness, or a desire to beat an opponent purely for sport, but this time, Rose really wanted to impress the potions master. She wasn't playing.

Severus counted down, but she already knew this trick. It was classic Slytherin M.O., so she threw up a shield on two, to deflect Malfoy's stunner, and then lowering it, she sent him a blast hex, with a tickling charm right underneath.

He was too busy deflecting the hex to take care of the charm, and she'd gotten him down.

Sirius' thing was rapid fire spells, which was now Rosie's most frequently used tactic as well, because he'd been responsible for ninety percent of her training.

Her guardian raised an eyebrow, and then lifted the tickling charm off of Draco, who was glaring at her.

"Do not turn off your ears in a duel. Always listen for multiple spells." Severus chided.

She allowed herself to feel smug for a moment, but underestimated how vindictive Malfoy really was, as he caught her off guard, sending a tripping jinx towards her.

Rose fell forward onto her knees, dropping her wand.

"Never turn your back on your enemy." Her guardian growled, his eyes flashing murderously.

Rosie just flushed. Maybe she wouldn't like Severus as her defense teacher quite as much as she'd thought she would.

After classes that day, she had sat down to eat dinner with Ginny and Neville, who were still dancing around each other, when she spotted the unmistakable markings of Kingsley's horned owl swooping in from above.

Had Moony really written back this quickly? Perhaps this wouldn't be so terrible after all.

But of course, Rosie was disappointed.

 _Dear Rose,_

 _I hope you're settling into school and enjoying your classes. I'm not sure when it will be safe for me to send off your letter to Remus, but I hope to be able to do so within the next week or two. He has arrived and has located the pack, but that is all the information that we know as of yet. If I hear anything else, I'll be sure to keep you informed._

 _Please know that if you are in need of any assistance, or you require something that Sirius can't help you with, that you may write to me. You are very important to Remus, and he is becoming very important to me. I hope that you'll not hesitate. Don't forget to keep your sneakoscope next to your bed at night._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Kingsley_

Her heart sank. She'd have to wait one to two weeks just for a reply to her first day of school letter? Rosie didn't like it at all. In her head, she tried to count all the two-week time spans in the first term. The total only depressed her further. There was a very real possibility that she'd be dead in two years, and now she was going to be apart from her godfather for at least one of them.

Excusing herself from the table, Rose headed towards the nearest loo to cry for a while. She didn't notice until it was too late that she was being followed.

It had been blissfully too long since Rosie had been pulled against her will into a broom closet. It seemed that she didn't have to find Malfoy herself to question him. He had the same idea.

"Hey princess." Draco prodded, cornering her against the wall.

God, she hated that name on his lips, especially right now with Moony so far away.

"Can't we ever just have a normal conversation?" She complained, pushing him away.

"Aw, Potter, don't be like that."

"Last I remember, it was you who was being a prat."

"What? Me?" He feigned shock.

"Yes you. Now get away from me, I have sulking to do."

He eyed the letter in her hand and she realized that he was about to take it only after he was turning his back on her, parchment in hand.

"Fuck! Malfoy! Give that back you horrible git!" She growled, wrapping her arms around him from behind, trying to grab at the paper.

"Ah. So that's what's got you all wound up. Your godfather is off to join his own kind."

"Better than joining the death eaters." Rosie hissed, pulling the letter back to her chest.

Draco's head snapped up and his eyes flashed with something akin to fear.

"How did you know? Who told you?!" His anger was evident. Draco was like Severus in that way. When he was scared, he got mad.

"I didn't, till now." She sighed, reaching out and grasping his left wrist in her hand, using the other to pry up the sleeve as he stared at her, frozen.

It was the same as Severus', though her guardian's mark was almost nineteen years old now, it still glistened on his skin in that eerie, iridescent serpent tongue pattern just the same as Draco's brand new one did.

Rosie ran the tips of her fingers up the length of the tattoo and faltered when he cursed, yanking it back.

"Does it hurt?" Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Just don't touch it." He sneered, moving closer, boxing her in.

It wasn't even close to a surprise when he closed the gap and captured her mouth with his, biting down on her lower lip and growling hedonistically.

His right hand came up to tug her hair, reminding her in vivid clarity of Lucius, but Rosie didn't pull away. She let him vent some of his frustration out on her and then grabbed onto his hand, pushing it away as it tried to find its way into her shirt.

"I'm kind of over having sex in broom closets Malfoy." She shook her head.

"I don't give a fuck." He spat, trapping her wrists in his hands and pushing her back as she resisted.

"I said no Draco. Get your hands off me." Rosie stood her ground, looking him in the eye.

He paused, his expression still hard, but pensive.

"Good job princess. At least one of us is learning."

The boy smirked as she reacted to the nickname again, lowering his hands and holding them up in surrender.

She picked up her letter off the ground and tried to un-crumple it as best she could before opening the door to the closet and stalking down the hall, Malfoy hot on her heels.

He caught her arm and spun her around to face him, concern hidden beneath several layers of scowl on his face.

"You won't… tell anyone, will you?"

"I've met death eaters Malfoy, trust me when I say that you're not one of them."

She turned around to leave him in the corridor and came face to face with Professor Dumbledore, who was walking mysteriously down the same corridor.

"Er, hello professor." She greeted, suddenly become conscious of the state of her hair.

"Miss Potter, just the girl I was looking for. Might you take a little walk with me? Mr. Malfoy." He bowed his head in greeting.

Rosie made a crude hand gesture toward Draco who seemed startled by the presence of Dumbledore, and then hooked her arm into the old wizard's and followed him.

"What's going on sir? Is everything alright?"

"Oh yes, everything is as well as it can be. Not to worry. I just wanted to catch you, to invite you up to my office for tea on Wednesday evening, say eleven?"

"Wow, so late its almost scandalous." She bit back, smiling a little.

"A scandalous hour for a scandalous conversation dear. I look forward to it." He winked.


	119. Chapter 119

**AN- I'm deliberately changing up the Gaunt family memory and dynamics a bit in this story, just so you're aware.**

It used to make Rosie nervous, to go up to the headmaster's office. There had always been a sort of mystery, or intrigue surrounding the old wizened man that exuded intimidation. However, now, and especially after this past summer, Dumbledore had become the person that knew more than anyone else about her feelings, and her fears.

He was the only one that knew that she would sacrifice herself to defeat Voldemort, and he was also the only one (besides Sirius himself), that was aware of their peculiar arrangement.

For this reason, it was now almost routine to be on her way to visit the headmaster. He had given her the password: Nanaimo Bar, which Rosie had never heard of, the night that he'd arranged for them to meet. Apparently, it was a muggle dessert from Canada. Trust Dumbledore to know that.

On that particular evening, Rose was running a bit late, having had to run back up to her dorm to fetch her father's cloak when she noticed Dean moping alone in the common room. It had been hard to avoid the muggleborn boy since his breakup with Ginny, and she knew that if he got her alone, he'd try to convince her to help him win her back.

She and Ginny teased each other relentlessly, but Rosie knew that her friend wasn't having her on when she said that she didn't want be with Dean, so, she knew to respect the girl's wishes.

The headmaster was waiting for her, his expression benign as he stroked his beard.

"Good evening my dear. I do apologize for the late hour. I'm afraid the subject matter is rather dark for a daytime rendezvous."

"No, it's fine sir. Good evening. I'm sorry I was late, I was just avoiding Dean in the common room, so I had to grab the cloak."

"Dean Thomas? Another of your conquests?" His tone was light and playful.

She let out an amused snort. "You sound like Severus. Dean is Ginny's ex-boyfriend. I'm avoiding him because of that."

"Ah. Miss Weasley. How is she doing these days? Did your little venture into the chamber ease her burden?"

Rosie nodded. "Yeah, she's been pretty good. I'm a bad influence on her though. She's only just broken up with Dean and she's already after poor Neville. Ginny used to be so sweet."

"Speaking of questionable influence…" He changed the topic. "I couldn't help but notice that you had been privately engaged with the Malfoy boy just before I located you the other evening. Severus had spoken to me at an earlier date about your affiliation…"

She cleared her throat, shifting awkwardly. "Er, was there a question in that statement sir?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "What is your connection with Draco Malfoy, Rose?"

Rosie flushed and then blinked before answering, "Mostly the kind that Severus hates. Draco doesn't really know how to let his emotions out properly, so he uses other means to express them."

"Is he quite vulnerable with you?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't know what his mission for the Dark Lord is, if that's what you're asking. Severus wouldn't tell me, and we've been on bad terms since last year."

"Might you do an old man a favor and attempt to engage him on the subject? I am so curious to know his feelings surrounding the topic."

"Just to be clear, you're giving me permission to pry Malfoy for information?"

"Yes." He stated plainly, the corners of his lips quirking up into a serene smile.

"Alright then. I'll see what I can do. Should be easier now that Parkinson's out of the picture. I'm gonna tell Severus this was your idea the next time he finds me with Draco though."

"Thank you, my dear girl. I do so enjoy to be on the receiving end of our potions master's wrath." His tone was sarcastic but he appeared to be jovial still.

"So, I'm assuming you didn't call me to meet just so that you could tell me to interrogate Malfoy. What's up?" She sat down across from him, resting her chin on her hands and looking up expectantly.

"No, you are correct Rose. There was a purpose for my entertaining your company tonight, and it was not to discuss your private life."

Rosie waited for him to continue.

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore had summoned the pensive from its cupboard and had it floating towards them.

She cringed. "Can I pass on the pensive sir? I don't really like them."

The only experiences she'd had with the magical object had been filled with horror.

"We all must face our fears at some point." He replied cryptically, causing Rosie to cross her arms and roll her eyes in resignation as the headmaster raised his wand to the pensive, stirring the memories.

"Are they yours?" Rose asked, peering inside.

"Mine? No, certainly not. These memories belong to Bob Ogden, a previous employee of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Regrettably, he is dead now, but before he passed, I was able to track him down to collect this particular memory. I'd like you watch it with me, and I'd like you to try and guess what makes this visit of his so very peculiar."

"Can you give me any context?" She frowned.

"Bob Ogden was called to the outskirts of Little Hangleton on this occasion to summon a man called Morfin Gaunt to a hearing for use of magic against a muggle."

"Little Hangleton? Isn't that where Cedric and I…"

The headmaster's face dropped into solemn sincerity. "Indeed. You have a good memory."

"Like I could ever forget." Rosie mumbled, tugging at her hair.

"My dear. If you're not feeling up to the task tonight…" He began, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.

"Sorry sir. I'm just being difficult. It's alright." Rose motioned towards the pensive.

Dumbledore nodded and then held out his good hand. "Shall we then?"

 _The nerves slowly dissipated as Rosie realized that they weren't standing anywhere near the familiar graveyard where Voldemort had been reborn. Instead, they were on the outskirts of a wood, following a short-piggy man along a barely-there stone pathway._

 _The man, Bob, she named him properly, was walking quickly, looking in all directions. He appeared to be anxious himself, jumping at the routine sounds of the evening, as dusk fell around them._

 _The village behind them shrank as they approached the mouth of the woods, and Rose caught sight of a small, ramshackle cabin off to the right. They had to vere off the path to get to it, though through the line of trees it still looked out onto the road._

 _Bob Ogden raised his fist to knock on the door, but pulled it away quickly, startled by what looked like a long rope twisting and turning above the handle. She noted the absence of a breeze though, and upon further inspection, Rose realized that it had been a snake that had scared Mr. Ogden._

 _Eyes wide with indignation on the snake's behalf, Rosie abandoned the headmaster and approach the door, standing so close to the memory-Ogden that had he been real, she could've felt the fabric of his overcoat. She could hear a soft humming, or…perhaps hissing from inside the cabin._

" _Hissy hissy little snakey, slither on the floor. You be good to Morfin or he'll nail you to the door."_

 _Surprised, Rosie turned back around. "Parseltongue?" She questioned Dumbledore, who had moved closer._

" _Chilling isn't it?" He responded, motioning to the now limp animal._

 _She nodded and then watched as Bob Ogden bucked up enough courage now that the snake had stilled, to knock on the door. The force of his knock alone nearly opened it._

 _From inside, there was a grunt and then a crash as something, or someone fell onto the floor._

 _Instead of a face at the door, a small pocket knife was the first thing to appear from the crack in the doorframe, and then a wand. Finally, at the end of the weapons emerged a pale, glaring pair of eyes. The man squinted, roving over the stranger on his stoop, his nose scrunched up in revulsion._

" _Whatdya want?" He asked, still speaking in parseltongue. Rose didn't understand why he hadn't switched to English._

 _It was obvious that Mr. Ogden was not a parselmouth._

" _I'm sorry, I don't quite…" The man continued awkwardly, and Morfin hissed again._

" _Blood traitor filth, besmirching the name of wizard kind."_

 _Poor Bob Ogden just stared blankly, trying to figure out his next move._

 _Just then, from behind Morfin, another figure hobbled its way over to the door, opening it wider so that they could see further into the shack._

" _Get inside Morfin." The older man ordered in parseltongue, and then looked to Mr. Ogden._

" _Apologies." He grumbled in English. "E's soft in the head, not much that can be done."_

" _Not to worry, Mr. Gaunt is it?"_

" _Marvolo. Marvolo Gaunt. That there's Morfin, E's my son."_

 _Rosie's head snapped to attention as he spoke. Marvolo was Voldemort's middle name._

" _Ah. Yes, well that's actually what I'm here to speak to you about today. You see, I'm Bob Ogden from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and I've come to investigate reports stating that your son Morfin had actually hexed a muggle in the vicinity…" Ogden explained, but he was cut off by a loud whooping sound from the road._

" _Disgusting!" Rosie heard someone shout. "Filthy animals!" A woman's voice this time, and then cackling laughter._

 _Morfin Gaunt was out of his chair and moving swiftly towards Rose and by extension, the shouting that they'd heard from the road, when Marvolo stepped in, wrapping his arms around his son in an effort to restrain him._

 _The younger Gaunt began to twist and spit unintelligibly in parseltongue. All that Rose could make out were the words, "Riddle, slag, cunt, girlfriend."_

 _She felt Dumbledore's hand come down to rest on her shoulder, and he pointed with his blackened hand motioning further into the decrepit cabin. Rose was surprised to note another, smaller figure hiding away in the shadows: a girl, maybe her own age._

 _Gaining the upper hand and drawing her attention away again, Morfin pushed his father off him and spoke once more, using snake language to address the girl in the corner._

 _"She likes looking at that Muggle. Always in the garden when he passes, peering through the hedge at him, isn't she? And last night... Hanging out of the window waiting for him to ride home, wasn't she? But I got him, Father! I got him as he went by and he didn't look so pretty with hives all over him, did he, Merope?"_

 _Now, it was not only Morfin who appeared crazed. Reacting to his son's provocative words, Marvolo lunged forward, reaching out and pinning the young girl up against the wall by her neck._

 _Merope- as her brother had referred to her, let out a whimper and tried to pushed her father off._

 _Rosie, who was very uncomfortable now, leaned her head onto Dumbledore's shoulder. He brought an arm around her, and placed his blackened hand firmly against her upper arm, allowing Rose to use him for support._

" _Dirty whore." Marvolo shouted, cutting off her air supply. "Filthy harlot, selling herself to a muggle. You want to touch filth, eh?"_

 _Merope gasped for breath._

" _You want to lay your hands on the scum of the earth?"_

 _Then he moved one hand off his daughter's throat and forced her smaller hand down towards his groin._

" _You're so desperate to touch a man." Marvolo grunted, using her to palm at the front of his trousers._

 _Rose couldn't watch anymore. She turned her face away and buried it into the headmaster's robes._

" _Only a moment more my dear." He soothed, allowing her to wait it out amongst a shouting match between all the men, before nudging her to look again._

 _Luckily, by the time Rosie was brought back to attention, Marvolo had moved away from his daughter and was brandishing some sort of locket and a ring towards a disoriented Bob Ogden, whose nose was gushing yellow puss._

She felt the tug of the memory lifting her up, up, and then back into the familiar office as Rose tried to get her bearings once again.

Sitting down heavily in one of the chairs, she allowed her head to fall into her hands as Rosie took deep breaths.

"I do apologize. I'd forgotten about Marvolo's rather unfortunate methods of degradation." Dumbledore stated, rubbing her back.

"Why are men so horrible?" She asked rhetorically, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm afraid it was rather unlikely for Voldemort to have come from a kind and gentle upbringing sweet girl."

"Was Morfin his father or something? Why anyone would want to bed him…"

"No. Not Morfin. Think back to the accusation made against young Merope in the memory dear."

Her eyes widened in horror and understanding. "Merope is his mother? Oh jeez. Tom Riddle, of course. Wait but how did she…?"

"How did she seduce him?" The headmaster filled in.

Rosie nodded.

"You have no doubt been familiarized with the effects of love potions in your time here at school."

Her mouth dropped open. Love potions? Oh, she had exchanged a heated set of letters with the twins when they had toyed with the idea of selling love potions at their new Diagon alley shop location. That, in Rose's opinion, was just much too dubious in the way of consent for her liking.

She hadn't been allowed to visit Diagon Alley to get her school things that year, but she'd sent Moony with explicit instructions to check for love potions in their items inventory. They had of course heeded her advice.

Everyone listened to her when she made them uncomfortable. The mere mention of Gilderoy Lockhart usually did the trick.

"So, Voldemort was conceived…"

"Through the use of such potions, yes. Merope married Tom Riddle Sr., fell pregnant, and only then did she decide that she didn't feel right about keeping her husband under the influence of magic, so she stopped feeding him the potions."

"What did he do?!"

"He left. Merope died in childbirth only a few months later."

Frowning, Rosie bit her lip. "But sir, what about Marvolo and Morfin, surely they didn't allow her to be with Riddle. That was the whole point of their argument."

"Hm. You're correct dear. Both men were arrested. Morfin served three years in Azkaban for hexing Ogden, and Tom Riddle Sr.. Marvolo was sentenced to only six months, but died in Azkaban."

"So, what happened to Morfin then?"

Dumbledore brought the tips of his fingers together. "That is where our friend Tom Riddle Jr. comes in Rose. He discovered his unfortunate past from Morfin years later, and murdered his entire patrilineal family using Morfin's wand. The man perished in Azkaban just as his father before him for crimes that he did not commit."

"So, he killed his father then? Voldemort?"

"He did."

Rosie's brows furrowed in silent contemplation. "Like Severus." She muttered absently.

Dumbledore blinked, his face frozen with surprise. "Yes… much like Severus. I must admit, I'm astonished that our potion's master shared that tidbit of information with you."

Rose shrugged. "You made him teach me that awful curse. He was just helping me feel less horrible about it."

The old wizard hummed in acknowledgement. "I think it best if you keep these little meetings quiet around Severus my dear. I don't believe that he'd much approve of me filling your head with these tales."

"Don't worry sir. He's not my secret keeper."

Dumbledore's eyes crinkled. "Your secret keeper?"

"Sirius. I've chosen Sirius as the person who gets to know things."

"I see, and how much have you told Sirius?" He asked apprehensively.

"Everything. Well, except the me dying part, but I might tell him that, later on. In fact, as soon as I leave your office, I'm going to go call him on my mirror and tell him everything you've told me."

He chuckled. "Trust you Rose to confide not in your friends, but your godfather. You are the only young lady that I'm familiar with who prefers the company of those twice her age."

"Ex-godfather." She corrected, blushing.

"I apologize. Ex-godfather." His eyes twinkled, knowing exactly why she'd made the distinction.

It was very late by the time that Rose headed back to her common room that evening, slinking past Mrs. Norris under her cloak and slipping through the portrait hole. Despite the late hour, she was interested to note that she was not alone.

Still under the cloak, she felt bad eavesdropping, but guilt quickly turned to concern as Rose listened closer to the hushed conversation between Ron and Hermione on one of the large backed sofas.

Hermione had been crying, and Ron looked defensive and standoffish.

"I told you already Mione! We're just friends!"

"I see the way she looks at you!" Mione hissed back, her voice cracking. "She's already told Parvati that she's interested!"

"Merlin, Hermione, all she's done is encourage me to try out for the quidditch team! Unlike you, she actually thinks I'll be a good fit!"

"I never said you wouldn't be! I just said that it might be better to focus on your classes! Quidditch won't help with the war!"

"Is that all you bloody care about? The war!"

"Of course, it is Ronald! _I'm_ a mudblood, not you! It's me they want to kill and I'm really scared!"

Her friend was openly crying now and Ron's body sagged. He leaned forward and pulled her in for a hug, running his fingers through her hair.

"I'm sorry. I really buggered that up, didn't I? Of course, you're afraid. Mione, I'm sorry. I don't need quidditch. I'll study more."

"Join the bloody team." Hermione grumbled into his shirt, and he let out a soft chuckle.

Jealously seized Rosie's lungs like a vice. Tiptoeing up the stairs, the desire to be heard, and comforted, and loved was just too strong to be ignored, and the moment she sank down onto her bed, she was digging the mirror out from beneath her pillow.

Sirius could've made a million excuses not to answer. He could've said he was busy, or asleep. The hour was certainly late enough, but like always, his face appeared on the other end of the reflective glass.

"Heya Rosie. How are you?" He asked, and her heart felt full.

"Hey Siri." Rose replied, and in that moment, she forgot to mention the top-secret information that she'd acquired. She'd tell him tomorrow.

They talked for ages, both falling asleep with the charm still active, and for a second, it felt like he was right there beside her.


	120. Chapter 120

**AN- Sorry for the delay! Writer's block!**

Rosie had the mirror on all night, and in the morning, she was woken up by Sirius' amused voice.

"Fell asleep on me, didn't you?" He teased.

She groaned, stretched and then sat up, holding the reflective glass up to her face. "I believe it was you who started listing off the properties of a… what was it? A wide-eye potion? You know potions talk puts me right out."

"I get that potions is a drag, but you really nod off reading a recipe? I can see why you failed."

"Severus always used to read me recipes when I was upset, and I'd fall right to sleep. He still does sometimes."

Sirius frowned. "Most of the time, I can't believe that we know the same Snape."

She shrugged. "It's an Evans thing."

That made him chuckle.

Rosie bit her lip. "So, I actually didn't call you to chat last night. I had a meeting with Dumbledore… a lesson really." She quickly checked that her silencing spell from the previous night was still intact.

"A lesson with Dumbledore? What's he teaching you?"

"Well, it was pretty weird. He showed me a pensive memory of Voldemort's biological family, the Gaunts."

Rose proceeded to explain what she'd seen. "I covered my eyes at the end, so I didn't see it all, but they seemed pretty mad Siri, and they spoke mostly in parseltongue."

"Why'd you cover your eyes?"

She let out a breath. "Ah, Marvolo, the father, he was like… molesting his daughter, and I just…"

Sirius held up a hand in the mirror frame. "No need to explain. Got it."

Rosie blinked, relieved. She and Sirius didn't typically go too deep into her Lockhart stuff. It made them both very uncomfortable. The last time had been in the summer, when she'd reacted to seeing him with Hestia like that, and he'd been utterly horrified.

She didn't need Siri to talk to her about it. That's what she had Severus and Moony for. At least, that's what she told herself.

"Anyways, he also asked me to spy on Malfoy. I think his task for the dark lord is serious. Dumbledore wanted to know how Draco feels about what Voldemort's ordered him to do."

"He's wants you to spy on the kid? Rose, I don't know if you should be getting involved. I know how you are when it comes to that death eater git…"

"Sirius, please. I'm not telling you this to get a lecture. I'm telling you, because I'm trusting you with all the information. When the headmaster asks me to do something, especially if it's got to do with Voldemort, I know it's important."

"Rosie, darling, I know, but I just worry. If you start hanging around him again…"

"What, are you scared I'll shag him?"

He cringed. "That little shit acts like a fucking animal with you."

"Siri! I don't want to talk about this."

"You used to tell me all of your boy drama Rose. Why won't you talk to me now?"

She made a face. "That was before you started acting like a jealous prat!

"I'm not getting into this with you today." Sirius growled.

"Whatever Siri. You're just a coward." Rosie was goading him and she knew it. Sometimes she just couldn't help herself with him though.

His reply was harsh and biting. "What do you want me to do Rose? Hold you down like Malfoy? Leave bruises on your wrists for Remus to find so he can rip me to shreds? Have you even thought about the consequences of what you're asking?"

Rosie was quiet for a minute, collecting her thoughts, but she could only think of one thing to say in reply.

"You wouldn't do that to me." She whispered, pulling at her hair.

He exhaled loudly. "Of course, I wouldn't Rosie."

"This is exactly what I mean. You'd never hurt me, you already love me, you're my best friend. I just don't understand why it'd be so difficult to…"

"Sweetheart." He cut her off. "It's not gonna happen. It can't happen."

"Fine." Rose replied coolly. "I have practice." She stated, raising her wand to cancel the charm.

"Rose, wait." Was the last thing she heard before the mirror changed, reflecting nothing but her own face back at her.

Sirius set his mirror down on the dresser and sank back onto the bed, his hands in his hair; thoughts of Rose Lily Potter, the haunting, infuriating girl that he loved so very much, the only ones on his mind.

What the fuck was he supposed to do?

She was so innocent. Rose didn't understand what she was asking. He was a thirty-six-year-old lecher, lusting after his best mate's daughter. He couldn't possibly give her what she needed.

Rosie's past and present were so troubled. She deserved to be with someone young and whole. Someone who hadn't spent nearly her entire lifetime soulless and in prison. Rose deserved someone happy, and fulfilled, who could give her a family, someone who she could invite home for dinner without any unforgivable curses being cast.

Sirius was old, bitter, and depressed and she was so beautiful, full of spirit… _bitter and depressed._ He finished wryly.

So, she wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine herself, but she had more time to recover from it that he did. Rosie could still live a normal life. She could come out of this, _they could, together._ His brain continued to torment him.

His mind called forward a disturbing vision of Rose, laughing with a baby on her hip as Sirius pressed his lips to the top of her head, before he was able to squash it down.

Rose didn't even like children, did she? She'd told them before that she didn't want them.

 _Stop thinking about your goddaughter having children._ Sirius chided himself. _Especially with you._ He added hastily, resisting the urge to pour himself a drink; he wasn't that bad, yet.

Rosie rolled out of bed and dressed quickly, pulling her hair up for practice. This was her first day as quidditch captain.

Ginny, who had played seeker in her place last year after she was suspended, was going to act as her second in command, but play chaser, and she had decided to hold tryouts at the crack of dawn, to make sure that everyone going out for the team could get themselves out of bed at a decent hour.

She was surprised to note that not only did Hermione follow suit, getting up and dressed as well, but Lavender did too. Her friend's lips thinned and she looked to Rose and sighed as their dorm mate fitted a skimpy black top over a pair of exercise shorts.

"Are you trying out for quidditch Lav?" Rosie asked, confused.

"No! Don't be ridiculous Rose. I'm just going out to support Ron. I know how much this means to him." She gushed.

Her eyes widened and she looked to Mione who appeared to be trying hard to ignore the girl. Out of the corner of her eye, Rosie could see her friend pulling the buttons on her sweater open to reveal her own strappy top, before covering herself again, and then uncovering. Indecision was clear in her eyes.

Rose frowned, watched Lavender leave the room, and then made her way over to Hermione. She reached out and grabbed the girl's top, keeping her from closing it again.

"Like this." She advised, and then Rosie showed Mione on herself how to position her breasts in her bra to accentuate her cleavage.

The other girl blushed. "Thanks. I know it's stupid, I just…"

Rosie let out a snort. "It's not stupid. Ron loves you to death Hermione, but men are idiots. It doesn't hurt to stake your claim a little bit. You should see how I acted this summer with Hestia."

Mione bit her lip. "Rose, I still think it's awfully inappropriate to be thinking about Sirius in that way…" She started, but Rose held up a hand to stop her.

"Yes, I'm aware. If I need someone to tell me that, I'll just ask Sirius myself. Now loosen up." Rosie whined. "You'll need to focus your energy into being Ron's support system."

The redhead in question was already down in the great hall staring into a cup of tea and fiddling with a barely touched piece of toast.

She leaned forward and clapped a hand on his back, just as his eyes widened.

Lavender sat down across from him.

"Hey Ronnie. How are you feeling? I know you'll do great today." The blonde reached out to pat his arm, exposing the majority of her chest to the entire table. Not that there were many people awake mind you, but Rose lost her appetite.

Hermione sat down on Ron's other side and glared into her eggs.

"Er, I'm ok. Thanks for asking Lav."

Rosie coughed, and then covertly flicked a crumb of toast down her friend's shirt.

"Ah, Mione, what's on your chest there?" She asked, trying to sound obvious.

Ron turned his head curiously, and his mouth nearly dropped open when he took in his girlfriend's blouse, which was so different from her usual style.

"Mione…you look, wow. Here, you just have a crumb on your shirt." He blushed, flicking it off as his eyes roved over her body.

Rose grinned with satisfaction and sat down next to Ginny. Her work was done.

The pitch was chilly, and Rosie was already exhausted when she arrived to find over twenty Gryffindors outside waiting for her. She let out an audible groan when she realized that Dean was also there, waiting in the wings, a broomstick clasped in his hands.

Ginny just rolled her eyes and shouted at everyone to form a group and listen up.

By the end of the tryout, Rosie was left exhausted and pensive. Her perspective had changed over the course of the hour and she felt the urge to rush back to her dorm and apologize to Sirius before class.

Lately, Ron had been behaving less than gentlemanly with Hermione. He'd been spending a lot of time with Lavender, blowing off study sessions to take walks on the ground and talk about quidditch with the blonde. Her friend had been in a foul mood for the better part of the week, and Rosie didn't blame her.

She bet that the girl was regretting sticking around in Gryffindor tower, instead of occupying the head dorms.

Still, even after their near constant battles, and countless secret arguments, Hermione, perfect, law-abiding, rather-be-killed-than-expelled Granger had cheated in the quidditch tryout to boost Ron's chances.

Rose was sure that her friend had no idea that she'd even seen. It had been a coincidence really. She'd been circling below the middle hoop, watching Ginny coax one of the new chaser hopefuls towards the goal. The younger boy was obviously a strong candidate, and so her attention was turned to the abysmal new beater recruit, who had shot a bludger way off into the stands.

This resulted in Rosie facing away from the goalpost and towards the bleachers, where Hermione had one hand covering her mouth, and the other poised tellingly behind her back.

Ensuing noise told her that at that very same moment, Cormac Mclaggen had missed the quaffle. Cormac had played reserve keeper the previous year, and he was foul, but quite good. The fail brought him just below Ron in score.

Rose was positive. Hermione had gone against everything she believed to give Ron a leg up, even though he'd been upsetting her so much that week. She couldn't help but compare her situation to theirs.

Sirius wasn't rejecting her to hurt her. He was rejecting her out of fear, because he didn't know how to navigate such a complicated path, and because he didn't want to tear their little family apart. He didn't want to say yes to her, _because_ he loved her, not because he didn't.

Never once had he said he didn't want her, or need her. Quite the opposite, but she'd been rushing him, putting him in an uncomfortable position without giving him time to process his own feelings.

Still lost in silent contemplation, and beside Hermione, who was also quiet, Rosie didn't even notice until it was too late that two large hands had encircled her waist from behind.

Her first reflex was to flinch and jump nearly out of her own skin.

Whipping around, she backed up and her eyes widened. "Why the fuck did you just grab me?" Rosie demanded, aiming her question at Cormac, who had come up behind her.

His grin didn't even falter.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get your attention." The boy laughed.

"Have you tried, 'Hey Rose, can I talk to you?'? She glared.

"Woah, I said I was sorry. Don't go all mad on me." He winked, raising his hands defensively. "That was some great flying out there."

"I was just observing the tryout." Rose deadpanned, turning back around and motioning to Hermione that they should take the quickest path away from here.

"Aw, Rose don't be like that. I just wanted to talk to you, ask you something actually."

Mione shot her a sympathetic glance.

"And what was that?" She stopped, allowing him to catch up, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, first Hogsmeade weekend's in a month, I thought maybe you'd like to grab a butterbeer? My treat." The boy waggled his eyebrows.

Rosie stifled a groan. "Sorry, can't. Sirius is coming up that weekend."

"Both days?" He frowned.

"Er, yes." She lied.

"Oh, okay, well what about Slughorn's first dinner? We could go together. I know you got an invite too."

"I don't think you bring dates to those. It'd be the same if we both just attended like we're supposed to."

Cormac seemed to be growing annoyed. "Well then any other occasion. I'm just asking you on a date, that's all." He replied tersely.

Hermione, who could see the look in her eyes interrupted. "I think she's saying no Cormac." Her friend grimaced.

"You should let your friend talk for herself." He countered, and Rosie scrunched up her face.

"Actually, Mione's pretty much got it covered." She shrugged. "Sorry, I just don't really date."

"You dated Diggory."

"Oh yes, bring up my dead ex-boyfriend. That's a great tactic. No, thank you Cormac. You're a good quidditch player, but I'm just not interested."

"Fine. Whatever. You know, you'd look a lot better if you didn't wear such baggy clothes." He retorted, turning away and walking faster up towards the castle.

Rosie let out an annoyed sigh. "Boys suck." She said to her friend, who only nodded, her brown eyes trained on Ron, Lavender, and Ginny, who was running interreference between the two behind them.

She didn't know what the hell Ron was playing at.

Rose didn't want to call Sirius again in a foul mood, so she changed quickly for class, and took off, leaving the mirror out on her bed.

In potions that morning, Rosie had to concentrate, and put one hundred percent of her energy into their project. They were making dreamless sleep; which Severus' textbook had told her was a highly temperamental brew.

She had a terrible time slicing the dragon vine, which wiggled every time she tried, and Hermione had cast her an incredulous look.

"Rose, the instructions clearly say to paralyze the vine first, so it can't move."

Rosie nodded. "I know. I'm just trying something different." _Her_ book had that line crossed out, and underneath, Severus had written that if the vine was left to wiggle, then it would be more potent once she added it to the potion.

Hermione just shook her head and went back to her own potion.

By the end of the lesson, Rosie's dreamless sleep was just below her friends for quality, and just above Malfoy's. She felt like this was a good compromise, as Mione worked much harder than she did, and even with a better recipe her skills were far greater than Rose's were in potions.

Still, this was the second-best brew that Rosie had ever concocted. Severus really was a genius.

Slughorn was thrilled, and mentioned his dinner again, which she pretended to gush over. She could feel Malfoy's eyes on her from behind as she talked animatedly with their professor.

In defense that day, Severus had them trying wordless magic. Rosie, who'd already practiced this particular technique in the tournament, was able to do some more simple charms right off the bat, and by the end of the lesson she had wordless disarming down to a science.

Her first guardian, who wasn't able to praise her openly, or show any favoritism toward her, shot her a covert look of pride form across the room that made her heart swell.

Dinner was a somber affair.

Ginny had gone off somewhere with Neville, and so it was just her, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, and Dean, which was awkward. On top of this, when dinner post arrived, she was disappointed once again.

She'd not heard anything from Moony since King's Cross, and Rosie was beginning to fret. Sirius had been telling her not to worry, but she couldn't help it. She had a really bad feeling about her godfather's mission.

The desire to be left alone led her up to the room of requirement that evening, where she'd expected to find the old DA training room, but instead, when she opened the door, she was met with the sight of heaps, and piles of junk, the size of mountains.

It reminded her a bit of stepping into her vault at Gringotts, only instead of gold, there were books, desks, artifacts, and toys. She saw the tattered head of a stuffed bear, and a broken clock amongst the myriad of indiscriminate items.

This was not what she'd wished for.

Thinking back, Rosie remembered that the only time the room hadn't presented them with exactly what they'd wanted was when it was already being occupied, and a sharp cough from behind one of the medium sized stacks startled her back to attention.

She slid her hand into her pocket and gripped her wand loosely.

"Hello?" Rose called out into the open air.

Muffled cursing could be heard to her left. Curious, Rosie furrowed her brows and maneuvered around the junk, towards the noise.

"Are you fucking following me Potter?" Malfoy snapped as her accomplice came into view.

"You wish." She retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. The boy was standing in front of a large cabinet, wand raised and pointed at the sleek, black wood.

"What is this place? A junkyard for lost things?"

"What do you want Potter?"

"Well, I wanted to go somewhere where I could be alone, but I guess I'm not getting what I want. What are you doing anyways?" She approached the cabinet and held her hand out to appraise it.

Rose jumped as Draco lunged forward and slapped her hand away. "Don't touch it!" He commanded.

"What hell Malfoy? What was that for?"

"You shouldn't be here." He growled. " _You_ especially, shouldn't be here."

"Why not? What is this? Something illegal?" She taunted, pointing to the cabinet again.

From the look on his face, Rosie wasn't far off.

"It is something illegal. Is it for your mission?"

The boy froze. His hand flexing around his wand. "What did you just say?"

"Your task, for the Dark Lord."

"How do you…? What do you…?" A mixture of anger and fear danced behind his eyes, and Draco moved forward, grabbing hold of her robes with both hands, his posture threatening.

"Malfoy. Hey. Malfoy, relax." She put a hand out, pressing it against his chest. "You pick up a few things, being the 'chosen one', and all. I don't know what your mission is, just that you have one."

"Who told you?" He growled.

"Your mother actually." Rosie raised her eyebrow, refusing to bend to his scare tactics.

"My… my mother?" Panic was evident in his expression.

"Yes, I've had a rather rude introduction to both of your parents this past few months." She took a step back, brushing his hands off her.

He seemed to deflate, sinking down to sit on the floor, his head in his hands.

Rosie joined him on the ground. "I'm not going to tell anyone Malfoy."

"Why the hell not? We're on opposite sides of this damn war Potter. I work for the man who wants you dead."

She shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't believe you chose that. Not for a second. That was never who you were."

"What do you want from me then? What do I owe you to keep this a secret?" He sounded tired, and frustrated.

"Nothing Draco. I'm a Gryffindor remember. Extortion isn't really my forte. I won't say anything, because I don't want to see you hurt. Trust me, I know what _he's_ like."

Malfoy looked up and blinked at her, before letting out another long sigh.

"It was while my father was in prison. Thanks for that by the way." He grumbled, eyes shifting nervously.

Rosie kept her mouth shut. Lucius may be a murdering rapist, but she cared about Draco enough not to remind him of that fact. Instead, she just listened as he spoke.

" _He_ came to the house, and he requested that I come down to the meeting. Mother had warned me that it might happen, but I guess I didn't really understand how… how…"

"Convincing he can be?" She filled in.

Draco exhaled and nodded. This was the most docile she'd ever seen him. The boy rarely opened up without immediately accosting her for sex afterwards.

"There was nothing I could do. He forced me to do things I didn't… I had to torture a person, a muggle."

She just nodded, biting her lip.

"You better not say anything. Don't you dare breathe a word of this to anyone or I'll…" His tone had reverted back to the aggressive one from before.

"Or you'll what Draco? What are you going to do to me that someone else hasn't already done?" Rosie prodded gently. "If you ask me, it'd be better to die by your hand than _his._ "

The boy balked at her words.

"I'm not going to say anything Malfoy. I already told you. I have bigger concerns than whatever Voldemort wants from you." She assured him, wiping the dust of her skirt, and standing up to leave.

Draco winced at the name, and she felt bad. She'd forgotten about his dark mark.

Rose left him there on the floor of the room of hidden things and began to make her way down to the defense office. It was strange to think of Severus occupying the familiar space. His quarters had even changed.

Her guardian was marking papers as was typical when she arrived, and Rosie was pleased to note that Severus had changed the defense office around entirely. It resembled his previous potions office now and was full of the same awful specimens in bell jars, and stacks of books, all organized meticulously.

She smiled.

"I like it much better in here without the cats, or that _couch._ " Rose scowled at the memory.

The potion's master raised an eyebrow. "It has been several years since that particular couch has occupied this office, or am I incorrect?" He asked, dipping his quill into the red ink to continue his marking.

"Not quite." She looked up at the ceiling. "Umbridge used to recreate Lockhart's office during my detention and make me lay on the couch."

Rose wouldn't meet her guardian's eyes as she spoke, but she watched as he pressed the quill so hard into the paper that it created a hole.

"She did _what_?" He hissed.

"She used to read me passages from, 'Gadding with Ghouls.'" Rosie finished, now fiddling with a paperweight on his desk.

He had put the quill down now.

"How long will it take Rose? How many more times will I be required to remind you that you are to confide information such as this to me directly? Have I not earned your trust?"

"I'm telling you now." She shifted, pulling at her hair.

Severus exhaled, his fists unclenching.

"We cannot win this war if you are allowing yourself to be harmed emotionally Rose. You must inform me if there is something causing you distress."

"Malfoy is causing me distress." Rosie disclosed.

That got his attention.

"What has Mr. Malfoy done now?"

"Nothing. He's not doing anything bad, but he's really stressed about whatever mission he's on for the Dark Lord. He's obviously terrified."

"Have you spoken to Draco about his task?" Her guardian's voice was wary.

"Not really, but he confides in me sir. I don't know why, but he does. Can't you just tell him that whatever it is, you're just going to end up doing it anyways?"

Severus stiffened. "Do not speak of that to me. I'd like you to stay away from Mr. Malfoy. Do not interact with him this year. Am I clear?"

Rosie sighed. Now she had conflicting orders. Dumbledore wanted her to pry the boy for information, and now Severus was telling her not to go near him.

"Yes sir." She lied.

"Very well. Was there a purpose to your visit this evening?" He asked then, moving back to his marking. "How are you finding your classes?"

He wasn't pushing her out, only being himself. Severus was very to-the-point.

"Fine. So far, my biggest worry is how to cut a dragon vine while it's still wiggling. I just wanted to know if you'd heard anything about Moony." She frowned.

He let out a snort of laughter at her potions comment and then shook his head. "No child. I have not. Trust that he will write to you when he is able."

"But what if he's not okay?"

"Rose. Lupin is resilient. He will be just fine."

Now Rosie knew that he was really trying to make her feel better. He never complimented her godfather.

They sat together for a few more moments, but restless, Rose decided to go back up to her dorm to call Sirius. She wanted to tell him what she talked about with Draco, even though he wouldn't like it.


	121. Chapter 121

_Princess,_

 _I'm safe and sound where I'm supposed to be. Unfortunately, there is not as much chocolate as I'd like out here, but I'm staying warm most nights. I miss you very much._

 _Love you baby._

 _Moony_

Rosie glared into the fire: her godfather's letter tucked in the folds of her sweater. She'd waited two weeks for Moony to reply and he'd only sent her two lines. Reasonably, she knew that wherever he was, he was more than likely busy, uncomfortable, and unable to sit for long periods of time to write, but it felt like yet another rejection.

"What's wrong Rose? You've been staring into the fire for over an hour, and you've got the same expression on your face as you had the last time Meadow tried to talk to you." Ginny questioned, coming to sit down next to her.

Neville joined them but was reading passively in the comfy chair to the left of she and Gin.

"It's Moony." She sighed. "I've been waiting for him to send me a letter for two weeks now and this is all he's sent." Rosie handed the note over.

Ginny frowned. "I'm sorry Rose. I know you get really homesick." The girl sighed, giving it back and leaning her head on Rose's shoulder.

She hummed at the contact.

"Did he write Sirius?"

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Siri would've called if he had. He mostly sends stuff to Kingsley." Rosie pointed out the neat scrawl above her godfather's note, indicating that it was forwarded through the auror.

"He's probably just busy." Ginny commented softly.

"I know that Gin, but I'm just not used to it. I'm selfish. He already left me once, and I know he feels terrible about it, but I'm just scared something'll happen to him, or maybe he'll decide he wants to…nevermind."

"Decide he wants to what? Were you gonna say stay with the wolves? Because you'd be crazy to think that." Her friend scolded.

"That is crazy, isn't it?" She tried to laugh it off, but there was just a hint of desperation in her voice.

"Rose! How could you think that? Remus would never leave you. Gosh, sometimes you're the most mature one of us all, but sometimes you can be downright childish." Ginny chided, taking hold of her shoulders.

"You are worth sticking around for." She repeated, shaking her by the shoulders.

Rosie let out an embarrassed chuckle and ducked her head. "Thanks. You're right, I'm sorry."

"What should I write back?"

"Send him a novel. I bet he's dying to hear from you. Just because he can't write much doesn't mean he won't hang on every word you send. It's Remus."

She was left composing her reply to Moony and wondering how her best friend seemed to understand her own godfather better than her.

After quidditch trials, Rosie had composed a team that she felt would work well together and of course, could dominate Slytherin in the quidditch cup. Her father had won the cup in his first year as quidditch captain, and, as there weren't many things that she had in common with James Potter, she didn't want to pass up the opportunity to have another.

Katie Bell was the only team member still with Rose from her first year. Now a seventh year, it would be unthinkable not to allow her to continue to play. Katie was good anyways. She and Rosie had never been close, mostly because the girl was a year older than her, but they'd had a passive friendship due to quidditch.

Ron had made keeper this year, because of Hermione's cheating, combined with Rose's overall distain for Cormac, who she kept on as a reserve.

In reference to Cormac, Rose was at her wit's end. After he'd both invited her for a date and then subsequently insulted her, he had been casting her a series of intense looks and had been making subtle jabs at her character in front of other. Namely, Professor Slughorn.

During the first dinner of the Slug Club, as it was so amusingly named, he had mentioned the prophet's misguided interpretation of Rose last year three times, and then publicly asked if she was feeling better.

Then, the boy had the audacity to state that Professor Lockhart had been his favorite defense professor. Slughorn, who was not deterred by the boy's efforts to cast her in a negative light, had chided Cormac for his insensitivity, and had told him without question that just because somebody is nice to one person, doesn't mean that they aren't cruel to another.

In spite of Rose's initial discomfort in meeting Professor Slughorn, he was quickly becoming her ally, and she found it nice to hear someone besides Severus and Moony speak about her mother. The different perspective was refreshing. Though, Dumbledore had yet to inform her why he'd asked that she form a comradery with the man, she found that it wasn't much of a hardship.

Severus had only raised an eyebrow when she'd expressed her fondness for the other potion's master and had made a comment insinuating that she was always quick to form attachments to men who showed an interest in her wellbeing, citing her 'father problem.'

Rosie assumed that he was just jealous because she was doing well in potions now, and never had with him. Though, she did make sure to credit him and his old textbook, loudly, and often.

Moony didn't write back for ages. In fact, it wasn't until three days before their first Hogsmeade trip in October that his second letter arrived. It was equally short and lacking in detail, but he did express his desire for her to continue filling him in on every event of significance in her school year, reminding her that Sirius and Kingsley would be there to help her if she ever needed anything.

The adjustment from seeing Moony and Sirius once or twice a week for lessons, to never was a difficult one for Rose and she was suffering. She'd been lingering around Severus a lot, which wasn't good in such dangerous times, and picking up the slack by way of visiting Slughorn.

It was going to be Sirius' birthday on November third, and she had post-to-owl ordered him a pair of tickets to one of the muggle bands that she knew he loved, due to the permanent-sticking-charmed posters still up in her bedroom at Grimmauld.

He didn't like to celebrate his birthday, and Rose knew that he wouldn't enjoy being reminded of it, especially a month in advance, but she wasn't going to get to see him until the end of November, for their last Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas, and it was always better to be early than late.

Her poor ex-godfather was so very lonely. He'd been calling nearly every night with nothing to say but starved for human contact all the same. Rosie had suggested that he try to spend some time with Kingsley, or perhaps get a part time job, even take on more responsibility for the order, but he was depressed, and the order was the only suggestion that he actually followed through on. Now he would spend time doing guard duty over night a few times a week and was doing a bit of cleaning out in the Black vaults at Gringotts, looking for any dark-and-or useful artifacts.

Rosie had suggested at one point that he reunite with Hestia, at least to have some company, despite her own jealousy, but he had vehemently refused, still unhappy and uncomfortable about the situation they'd found themselves in at the end of August.

Ginny and Neville were going on their first official date that day, so Rose hung back and walked down to the village with Katie and her friend Leanne who were chatting animatedly about a wedding that they were both invited to over the yule break.

She recognized Sirius right away, because he was pacing outside the three broomsticks, but instead of his regular robes, he was wearing muggle clothes, skinny trousers and a faded leather jacket. This wasn't uncommon, only different.

"Sirius!" Rosie waved him down, smiling at the other girls who bid her a good day.

"Rose!" He called back, and she leapt forward, catching him in a tight, spinning hug.

She buried her face into his neck and held on tight to his shoulders.

"Christ, I've missed you." Sirius muttered, his grip never relaxing.

He pulled her back, keeping his hands on either arm as he appraised her.

"Beautiful, as always. Still scrawny though." The man teased, tucking her hair behind her ear.

The gesture was tender and full of affection and he didn't appear to want to let go of her. Rosie tucked her arm into his and they entered the Three Broomsticks together, finding a table and sitting down.

Madame Rosmerta came right over with a grin on her face and nudged Rose's ex-godfather.

"Sirius Black in my pub. What a treat! And with a Potter no less!" She beamed, "Just like the old days.", and Sirius chuckled.

"Heya Rosie, what's crackin'?" He replied.

"Oh, same old stuff darlin'. Just waiting for the day when you'd walk through these doors again." The barmaid pretended to swoon, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

Siri shifted awkwardly and shot Rose an apologetic glance, but she just shook her head and winked.

"Now, what can I get you two?"

When Rosmerta had gone and come back with their order, Sirius blinked. "I'm sorry, Rosmerta and I have a bit of a history." He started, fidgeting in his seat.

Gone was the self-assured Black heir of before. Now he was just her Siri again, trying hard not to strain their relationship any further.

"You slept together in your seventh year, Hogwarts send-off, yes I know." She giggled, and his eyes widened. "How did you…?"

"She told me in like fourth year, the first Hogsmeade weekend after you were pardoned."

"Damn gossip." He cursed, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry Prongslet, you're still my favorite Rosie, always will be."

Sirius was playing now, but there was an undertone of sincerity in his voice.

"Git." She grinned back.

"Kay precious, lay it on me. What've you been doing. I want the good the bad and the ugly." He leaned back, crossing his arms.

"We talk almost every night." She stated, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah, I know, but I know you don't tell me everything, so c'mon. Spill."

"Well, I'm really not doing well with the no-godfather thing. Ginny keeps talking me down from sending off a big angry letter in his direction as a 'thank you' for the zero news I've been receiving."

He snorted. "Yeah, so far he's sent me one note with hasty instructions to check on you. Don't worry love, those wolf camps are pretty brutal, conditions wise. I'm surprised he's even tracked down a pen and paper."

"I know. I've been getting my dad-fix mostly from Severus, whose getting tired of me laying on his office couch 'regaling him with teenage chatter.'" She quoted.

Sirius made a face when she referred to the potion's master as dad.

"I like Slughorn though. He tells me about my mom, and he's been sticking up for me. So that's sweet."

"Sticking up for you? Whose giving you a hard time? Is it the Malfoy kid?" He glared.

"Nah, different guy. Cormac Mclaggen. Don't worry, it's nothing."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to kill him? I can kill him for you."

"Oh absolutely. Please, I'd love to see you shut up in Azkaban for another twelve years." Rosie retorted. "Honestly, don't worry about it. Severus already fails any guy that looks at me."

"Fine." He raised his hands defensively. "I'm trusting you."

"Speaking of Azkaban…· She changed the topic. "Tell me how you really are Siri. I know you've been going stir crazy, but how are you doing with the whole Peter thing?"

His mood darkened immediately.

"Darling. Rose of my life, please don't mention that name over civilized tea." Sirius scowled.

"Siri don't be like that. At least tell me that you're not plotting anything stupid."

She reached out and took his hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over his.

He sighed. "It's complicated Rose."

"No, it's not." Rosie insisted. "I will not be okay if anything happens to you, so I need you to promise me that you won't do anything to land yourself back in prison.

"Hey." Sirius held a firmer grip on her hand. "I said I was in this with you. I'm not leaving. Understand?"

Rose exhaled. "I'm just really tired of people leaving."

"Remus didn't leave." He told her firmly. "C'mon. I want to show you what I've been doing."

Siri wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her down from the barstool, a mischievous little smile playing on his lips.

He brought her out back behind the pub, and down a little path. When they got closer to where he wanted to go, he moved behind her and pulled a hand over her eyes.

"Siri! What are you doing?!" She tried to wiggle away.

"It's a surprise." He insisted, keeping her eyes covered as they walked.

When Sirius uncovered her eyes, she opened them, and her face broke out into a wide smile. "You got your motorcycle back?!"

She squealed happily and turned to face the beaming man. "Oh Sirius! I'm so excited for you!"

"Hagrid brought it over a couple weeks ago. She was a bit old and rusted, but I got 'er fixed up." He clarified.

That explained his outfit. He'd ridden his bike to meet her.

"You have to take me for a ride!" Rosie demanded, pressing her hands to his chest.

His grin faltered. "Rosieeee." Siri whined. "You know I'm not supposed to take you off Hogwarts grounds."

"Please Siri. Please please please." She begged, manipulating him with her wide, innocent expression. "Live a little. You can protect me."

He ran a hand through his hair, obviously conflicted.

"C'mon. I bet dad would be thrilled."

Siri snorted dryly. "I bet he wouldn't." He countered, but then his face broke into another silly grin, and he practically picked her up and moved her towards the bike.

"Get on then."

Rosie let out an excited giggle as her ex-godfather swung his leg over the machine and motioned for her to get on the back. She did the same, and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, pressing her face and chest into his back and making herself comfortable.

"You know, some of my first memories are of this bike." Rose mused absently, feeling the engine purr beneath them as he turned the key.

"Don't remind me." He groaned as they started to move.

It was exhilarating even before they left the ground. Siri drove them through the streets of Hogsmeade, and they passed Ginny and Neville. The boy's mouth dropped open, and Ginny screeched at her as they went past.

"Rose Potter you are so irresponsible!"

Rosie just broke out into happy laughter, resting her chin on Sirius' shoulder as he sped up and they made their ascent into the sky.

"Alright back there?" Siri shouted over the noise, as the wind whipped her hair back out of her face.

"Yes!" She laughed, as he sped up.

The pair stuck to the skies, and by the time they neared the ground, Rose was docile and calm, laying against him, and observing the ground below.

Sirius knew he shouldn't have disobeyed the single most important order that he'd been given. He was aware that any number of things could've happened to them once they'd left Hogsmeade village, but Rosie was just so damn sweet and convincing. He'd known that he didn't stand a chance the moment her eyes lit up with excitement at the mere sight of the motorcycle.

His whole being ached to make her happy.

When they landed back behind the bar, Rosie hopped off, and then immediately leapt forward to hug him.

"That was the best surprise ever!" She doted, kissing his cheek.

"Glad to be of service darling." He smiled, ruffling her already windswept hair.

She looked wild, energetic, and alive. It was an expression he wasn't used to seeing on her, but he found that he liked it immensely.

He grabbed the keys out of the ignition and threw his arm over her, leading her back up the path and towards the road.

The rest of the students were all heading back up to the castle, and he figured that she should do the same. Though, the day had gone by entirely too quick.

"C'mon precious, I'll walk you back up."

"Wait." She stopped him. "Don't be mad ok?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I know you don't like your birthday, and you hate thinking about aging, and all of that, but I'm not going to see you until after, and I just wanted to give you your gift now." She rambled, blushing prettily.

Sirius resisted the urge to moan in horror. Turning thirty-seven was not something he liked to be reminded about. Instead, he composed himself and focused on her enthusiasm.

Rosie held out a long piece of paper, which he took from her and read over before grinning with honest delight.

"How did you even get Led Zeppelin tickets?"

She shrugged. "Muggle-raised, remember? I know I'm not allowed to leave the house, but I figured maybe by then we could come up with some elaborate disguise, or if I can't go, you and Moony could, or whatever you want…"

"You are my favorite person." He cut her off, wrapping his arms around her in another ferocious embrace.

They'd begun to walk up the stone path once again, when they were interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream.

Rosie reacted before he did, drawing her wand and gasping with shock and dread at the sight of a girl, probably her own age, suspended in the air like a petrified ghost.

"That's Katie!" She urged him forward, and Sirius didn't even think.

He raised his wand, eyes trained on Rose, and conjured his patronus, sending off a message to Dumbledore.

They ran to help, and the other girl, also a student, clapped her hand over her mouth in terror.

"It was the necklace! She touched the necklace!" She pointed at the ground where a large pendant of silver and opal lay, half out of the package and gleaming in the waning sunlight.


	122. Chapter 122

Sirius levitated Katie up to the school, and Rosie did the same with the cursed necklace, making sure to steer clear of Leanne, who was following behind, her eyes brimming with tears. Katie was unresponsive, but her eyes were open wide, and every so often, her hand or foot would twitch, but there was no indication that she was aware of her surroundings.

Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Severus were waiting at the gates, along with a large crowd of students. Her guardian was quick to take over transportation of the cursed object, appraising her anxiously, not even taking the time to glare at Sirius, who transferred Katie to the headmaster.

The transfiguration professor stayed behind as the other two rushed off, and walked with Rosie and Sirius, who had his arm hooked onto hers again.

"It was very lucky that you two were so near." The woman commented.

Rose who was still in shock just nodded, but Sirius agreed with her. "I wonder what she was doing with something so dangerous."

"I walked down to the village with her. She seemed normal." Rosie added, her throat constricting with worry.

Siri frowned, stopping her, and putting a hand on each of her shoulders, leaning back to look at her. "Are you alright Prongslet? Do you need to take a minute?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, I've just never lived through a war, I guess. This stuff still isn't normal for me."

"Don't apologize for that." He chided her, placing his hand on her back again, nudging her forward.

"Sirius is right Miss Potter. Injury and death are not things that one should aspire to 'normalize' as you put it."

"You're right professor. I'm sorry, I just feel like things are only getting worse… since Cedric, and since _he_ returned, and now Remus is gone." Her voice cracked.

The professor and Sirius made eye contact and then her ex-godfather let out a breath.

"Why don't we see if we can get ahold of Remus on your mirror before we go check on your friend?" He suggested.

She paused. "Really? I thought that was only for emergencies. What if he gets mad?"

"Then I'll tell 'im it was my stupid idea. C'mon, we'll call together."

Professor McGonagall smiled tightly at them, and then disappeared into the castle, while Sirius led her up to the dorms to retrieve her mirror. He disillusioned her so that she didn't attract unwanted attention from the other students as she snuck up the stairs to get it.

Her ex-godfather brought her to some abandoned classroom on the same floor and they huddled together on the ground. Sirius made the call, because Rosie didn't want to get in trouble, and she almost cried with relief when Moony's face appeared in the glass.

"Sirius? Is everything alright? Is Rose alright?" He was whispering, and he sounded worried.

"Hey Moony. Sort of, we're both fine. I've just got Rosie here and her quidditch friend was just cursed and is in the hospital. She's really missing you, and I suggested we give you a quick call."

Moony's eyes darkened. "Rose?"

"Hi Moony." Rosie croaked, as Siri turned the glass to face her.

" _Oh_ , look at you. Hey princess. I'm so sorry about your friend." He soothed; his voice still low. "Are you doing alright?"

"Yes, no. I don't know. I just miss you." Rose stuttered. Her bottom lip began to quiver.

"I miss you too sweetheart, so much."

There were voices on the other end, and then somebody shouted, "Oi Lupin!" from a distance.

"Rosie, I've got to go. Be brave honey. I love you." He said hurriedly, before the mirror went dead.

Sirius sighed and set it down, his eyes widening in alarm at the sight of her face, the tears now falling freely.

"Rose, oh love. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, please don't cry."

"I can't do this." Her voice shook. "I can't. I'm not strong enough. I just want to die. I want this to be over, I don't care anymore."

Her ex-godfather was startled now. "Please don't talk like that."

She backed away from him. "Just go away. I want to be alone. I just want this to end."

"Rose. I'm not leaving you alone while you're like this. You're scaring me."

"Leave me alone!" She shrieked again, and then made to leave.

He grasped her arms tightly, preventing her from leaving. "No, I'm sorry kid, but no. Let's go to the hospital wing to check on your friend." His tone was stricter now.

"Sirius go away. I don't want you here." Rose tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but that only made his reaction stronger.

"You're acting like a child Rose. If you expect me to treat you like an equal, then you don't get to pull this shit with me. You're talking about suicide, and I'm not about to let you go off somewhere alone."

She deflated a bit.

"Now, as your very best friend, I'm going to insist you come with me." He commanded gently, pulling her along.

Rosie was silent all the way to the hospital wing, and by the time they arrived, the bed that Katie had occupied was empty again.

"Miss Bell has been brought to St. Mungos for further revision." Dumbledore told them solemnly, and Rose nodded, sitting down on one of the cots.

Sirius detached himself from her and went over to Severus who was running diagnostic spells on the necklace.

"Snape, can we get a calming draught over here?" She heard him ask, then his voice dropped lower.

"She's talking about killing herself, and I'm nervous to leave her." Rosie heard him whisper.

Severus' body tensed.

"I'm not actually going to off myself Severus." Rosie groaned, pressing her fingers to her temples.

The headmaster was frowning now too.

The potions master reached into his robes, and pulled out a vial, setting his wand down and moving over towards her.

"Rose, drink this, and stay here with Black. I will return once the headmaster and I have isolated the curse on this pendant." He ordered.

"Do attempt to keep the girl alive whilst I'm gone Black." Severus glared. To Sirius, his tone might've sounded normal, but there was a hint of anxiety in his words that Rosie recognized.

When the other men had left, Sirius sat down on the bed with her.

"Thanks. Now he'll be all over me for weeks."

"Well, you can't just say stuff like that and expect me not to react." He defended.

"Some bloody secret keeper you are." Rosie retorted, downing the potion.

It must have been her choice in words that did it. Sirius flinched, and then dropped his face into his hands.

"Rose, that had nothing to do with Voldemort or the war. You know that."

"Everything has to do with this war. What if I told you that I'd have to die for Voldemort to die? What would you do? Would you run off and tell Severus?"

"Don't joke like that." He snapped.

"It's a fair question Siri. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to help finish this war, even if I don't make it out alive?"

"I already told you I'd do whatever you asked me to! Now, quit fucking with my mind!" Sirius shouted, standing up. "I'm not gonna to let you make me feel guilty for worrying!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry" Rose conceded. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." He sat back down. "This is all getting so fucked up. Rosie, we can't do this. We can't be like this with each other."

"I just need someone who I can trust with everything. I can't carry all this stuff alone."

"And I will be that person for you. I swear to god I will Rose, but we can't make this too complicated. You'll regret it if everyone's fighting while we're on the cusp of a war."

She bit her lip. He was talking about something else now.

"I know that maybe you don't see it, but Remus would kill me love, and he'd feel so uncomfortable, not to mention Snape." The man grimaced. "I don't want you to lose anyone because of me, and I don't want to lose you because of my actions."

"I know that Siri. I just love you." She sighed.

"And I love you, but just, let's focus on getting through this damn war first, ok?"

Rosie nodded, allowing him to bring her in for a hug, fighting the urge to tell him that she hadn't been being dramatic before, that she really wouldn't make it to the other side of the war, but she kept quiet. That was the one thing she wouldn't tell him, not yet.

"So, have you seen the Malfoy kid around since you last found him? Did he give you anymore information? Sirius asked, pulling back.

"No. I think he's embarrassed for being vulnerable the last time, but, when I mentioned what I'd seen to Severus, he got annoyed, told me not to talk to him about that, so I think it's serious, whatever Malfoy's been asked to do. I'm worried that Severus is gonna have to do something bad."

"Snape'll be fine Rosie, he just babies you."

"I know he'll be fine Siri, I'm just nervous. He was so quiet that night he made the vow, and he doesn't even want me to talk to Draco. I think he's concerned I'll figure out the mission."

"Rose." Siri chuckled, taking her face in his hands. "We all hate Draco Malfoy. Snape has never wanted you to talk to him, neither does Remus, and I certainly don't. Nobody understands why you even try with him."

She giggled, leaning her forehead into his shoulder.

Severus cleared his throat from the other side of the room. He'd returned, and his eyebrow was raised.

"You should leave now Black."

Siri glared.

Rose, knowing that she was going to have to deal with her guardian at some point, touched Sirius' arm.

"I'll give you a call tonight or tomorrow. Nice patronus by the way. I didn't know you'd learned how to do it again." She complimented him.

"Thanks, Prongslet. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to stop sending yours." He smirked.

"Never." Rose smiled, kissing his cheek. "See you next Hogsmeade weekend."

When he'd left, Severus came in to sit with her, pulling up a chair, a scowl on his face.

"You dote on that insufferable mutt far too much. It's sickening. The man behaves like an adolescent."

"Severus! I don't like when you talk that way." She crossed her arms.

"And I am more than a little irritated to learn of your suicidal ideation from that idiot as opposed to directly from you."

"I'm not suicidal." Rosie growled. "Sirius was just being dramatic. I was upset, and said I wanted to die, but you know I don't."

"My only goal is to keep you alive child. That is the reason behind everything that I do, so I must know that you will not make my efforts for naught."

"If your only goal is to keep me alive, then why are you doing that mission for Malfoy? Is it something to do with me?"

He sneered. "I've stated before that you are not to reference that."

"I'll get him to tell me. I can do it you know. Then you won't be able to hide it from me."

"Rose. This task is something that I myself am still coming to terms with. I would appreciate that you did not attempt to pry Mr. Malfoy for information."

His tone was so sincere, and so uncharacteristically exposed that she paused.

"Fine." Rosie accepted. "But if he tells me on his own, I won't stop him."

Severus didn't say anything to that. She fiddled idly with one of the buttons on his robe in the ensuing silence.

"So, what happened to Katie? Is she gonna be ok?"

He exhaled. "Miss Bell will require an extended stay at St. Mungos. I would advise you to find a new chaser for the Gryffindor quidditch team if it is not your intention to lose to Slytherin."

"Severus! I'm not worried about her because of quidditch. That's an awful thing to say!"

"It appears that she was placed under the Imperius curse in the Three Broomsticks as was the barmaid. The girl was smuggling the package into the castle to give to the headmaster."

Rosie furrowed her brows. "So, someone was trying to kill Dumbledore?"

"It appears so." Her guardian answered neutrally.

She bit her lip. That seemed like a waste of time. Rose and Severus had never talked about the fact that he knew the headmaster was dying already. He obviously didn't know she was aware, but it felt wrong to talk about it. As long as they both knew, there wouldn't be any surprises. It felt too closely tied with her own fate for her to speak with him about it.

They really were caught in a little game of secrets right now. All the information and _who was allowed to know what_ was beginning to jumble together in her head.

It was already getting late by the time that Rosie made it back to the common room, and she wasn't expecting to see anyone when she got in, but as her luck would have it, she walked in on yet another problem.

It appeared that the culmination of fighting and whatever the hell was happening in Ron's head had reached a breaking point, because she entered the common room to find Lavender Brown pressed into one of the sofa's with Ron's body smushed on top of her, their lips moving in sync with each other. Her leg was hooked around his thigh.

"You're fucking joking." She deadpanned.

The couple froze.

Ron swore, and rolled off the blonde, bringing himself into a standing position, his neck reddening.

"Rose." He groaned.

Lavender cringed. "I'm just gonna…" She motioned toward the stairs, taking her leave before things could get heated.

"Ron, what the hell are you doing?"

Rosie approached, coming to sit on the couch, and patting the spot in front of her.

"Oh god, Rose, please don't tell Mione. It was a mistake. I'm just frustrated lately, I…"

Her eyes were still wide with disbelief. Ron and Hermione as a couple had been such a constant in her life up until this point and now even that was crumbling down around her.

"You have to tell her. It's cruel." She blurted out.

"I can't! She'll be so upset! Please don't say anything. It won't happen again!" His voice came out as a frantic whisper.

"Ron, wow. I don't know what to say. Gosh, you know, well… everyone knows that Cedric cheated on me with Meadow…but…"

"Fuck, I forgot about that." He moaned. "Rose, I'm so sorry. Just…"

"You didn't let me finish." She cut him off. "Look, everyone knows what Ced did, and yeah, that really hurt. Especially because it was Severus who told me about it, not Cedric himself, but not very many people know that I also cheated on him. Before he ever even looked at Meadow, I had slept with someone else, and I did so multiple times."

Ron's mouth hung open. "Are you serious? With who?"

"I'm not lying, but I'm also not going to tell you who it was."

"Why _are_ you telling me this then? Does this mean you won't tell Hermione?"

"Ron, you were my first friend, and I owe you one. So no, this time I won't tell, but I just need you to know something."

He nodded, clearly relieved.

"I never told Cedric what I had done. Never. He died thinking that he was the only one who'd been unfaithful and that's something I've regretted so desperately since he was killed. We're in a war Ron. Now is not the time to keep secrets."

"She'll be crushed Rose."

"Maybe you should take a few days to think about why you did it then, so you can go to her with some answers instead of just apologies."

"I already know…nevermind."

Rosie paused, giving him space to get his feelings out.

"We've just been together since we were thirteen Rose. You have to understand. We've been each others' first everything… I just feel like maybe we're missing out. You know?"

"Hey. Listen. I get it, and I don't think you're a monster, but I really do think you need to talk to Hermione about this and tell her what you've done. Maybe you guys just need a break, to do a little exploring."

"She'll never go for that." He sighed. "I really love her."

Rosie raised her hands in defeat. "It's your choice Ron, but if you love and respect her, you won't keep sneaking around like this. This is your one free pass with me."

"But you loved Cedric, didn't you? So why did you…?"

She stuck her hand out, placing it on his arm for support. "I did love Ced, but I was never in love with him. I was too young, and we had different expectations. I was honestly just shocked and amazed that I was able to have sex without panicking, and I think some of that amazement transferred over into me thinking that I loved him."

"It's not like that, with me and Mione."

"I know. That's why you need to tell her, and you need to either fix things or end them.

Her friend appeared stricken.

"C'mere." Rose opened her arms to him, and he came forward to hug her.

They'd not had a hug like this in a long time. She patted his back and he held on tight. "It's alright Ron. Sirius told me once that when you're young, you're allowed to make mistakes, but you have to learn from them too, or you'll never get better."

"Thanks Rose. God, thanks for listening. Merlin, I've been a terrible friend to you, through all of this. Lockhart, Cedric dying, everything, and now…"

"It doesn't matter Ron. I've had a lot of great people helping me through those things, and I love you no matter what, but I also love Mione, so you guys need to figure this shit out."

He went to bed after that and Rosie went up to her dorm, where both Hermione and Lavender were fast asleep. She wanted to call Sirius again but resisted the urge. Some things she just needed to learn to deal with on her own.

 **AN- Any thoughts? Should I break up Ron and Hermione or keep them together? Spoiler alert, they will eventually end up together in this story, but I'm unsure if I'm going to make them take a hiatus or not, mostly because being together since third year without a break doesn't seem super realistic to me.**

 **Any feedback on the plot so far? Mostly I'm just improvising sixth year, because I never made any concrete plans for it (except the end of course). I have TONS of content for deathly hallows, but if there's anything specific you'd like to see in sixth year, drop me a comment or a PM!**


	123. Chapter 123

**AN- I really hate this chapter, so that's why I haven't posted in forever. It's not giving me the spark. I hope I get more into the next one.**

"Get away from me!" Hermione shouted, her voice breaking as Ron moved forward to wrap his arms around her.

Rose made uncomfortable eye contact with Ginny who was standing a few feet from her.

"Mione please, it was a mistake." Ron pleaded, his tone desperate and panicked.

"I knew this would happen! I told you! I told you she liked you!"

The corridor had begun to amass a small crowd, and Rosie was torn between letting her two friends duke it out in public or trying to shuffle them away to a more private location.

Ginny ultimately made the decision, rushing forward to grab onto Ron's arm, pushing at him until he resigned, allowing her to lead him away from the others.

Taking this as a cue, Rose moved over to Hermione and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Alright, screw off." She snapped at several sets of prying eyes. "This is stressful enough without you idiots making it worse."

"Oh Rose!" Mione cried, burying her face in Rosie's shoulder.

Feeling uncomfortable, she tried to direct the other girl in the opposite direction that Ginny had gone.

They wound up in the corridor just to the left of Gryffindor tower before Hermione stopped, placing her hand up to press against her forehead, and then down to cover her eyes. A stray sob wracked the other girl's body, and Rosie let out a sympathetic sigh.

"Oh Mione, I'm so sorry. I know." She soothed, rubbing her arm.

"Rose, what do I do? What am I supposed to do? You stayed with Cedric after he… How did you get past it?" Her voice was pained and breathy, the desperation evident and growing with each passing second.

"God, Mione, I didn't really. It always bothered me, but Ced was sorry. He was always apologizing, but I never apologized to him…" She stopped herself then, not wanting to make the conversation about herself.

"Why did you do it?" Was her friend's next question. "Why did you sleep with Draco Malfoy? Didn't you love Cedric? Can you really love someone if you're unfaithful to them?"

Rosie knew what she was really asking.

"Ron loves you Hermione. He loves you very much, but I think he just maybe feels like taking some time, exploring. You guys've been together for so long…It's hard to stay in a constant relationship like that when you're so young."

"That's a horrible thing to say." The other girl sobbed, leaning her head up against the stone wall.

"Sorry. I don't know what to say. He's really sorry Mione, but you guys need to talk and figure out where you're at, without yelling."

"H…how do you know he's sorry?"

Rosie's heart leapt in her chest. She was caught red handed.

Cringing, she bit her lip and looked away.

"You knew, didn't you?" Hermione's voice deadpanned.

"Hermione…"

"How long have you known Rose?" Her tone was rising in pitch.

"A week. I walked in on them and… Mione, I'm sorry. Really, I wasn't sure what to do."

"A week? Rose. I thought… I thought we were friends. I mean I know…well, I know I don't always understand you, or the things you do, but I thought we were…"

"We are friends Hermione. I swear. I didn't conceal it to hurt you. Ron was so confused, and…"

"And you took his side." The other girl finished her sentence for her.

"I didn't take his side."

"Would you have told Ginny? When she was dating Dean… would you have told her?"

"That's different. Ron was my first friend…"

"And you were mine!" Hermione retaliated, her voice breaking.

Rosie felt her friend's words like a knife to the chest.

"Mione, I'm so sorry." She tried, reaching out to put her hand back on the girl's arm.

She flinched. "Don't. Just don't, Rose. Go away."

"Hermione…"

"I said get away from me!" She shouted, sinking to the floor, her hands covering her face.

Rosie did as she was told and spun around, stalking back towards the common room, bypassing curious onlookers and going straight up to her dorm. Ginny and Ron were nowhere in sight.

When she arrived at the dorm, she went straight for her mirror, almost missing a folded note that was laid out on her bed. Curiously, Rose picked it up, unfolded it, and then frowned.

 _Dearest Rose,_

 _Might you accompany me for another lesson around 9 tonight?_

The scrawl was unmistakably the headmasters, and she closed her eyes, stress seeping through her veins like a virus. This wasn't what she needed today.

Checking the clock, Rosie realized that she had only two hours until she was supposed to meet Dumbledore, and she sighed. Deciding to skip dinner, she discarded the mirror and lay down on the bed to try and nap.

Her mind was riddled with conflict. On one hand, she felt the persistent urge to continue excelling in her classes. Something about her recent success had made her feel more prepared for what was to come. She had been working hard at quidditch, and Dean was set to fill in for Katie in the upcoming game, which was in only a few days' time.

However, on the other hand, way back in the depths of her mind, her really anxieties festered. Thoughts of death, Moony, the war, Draco's task, and Dumbledore's inevitable demise danced around the regular daily events, and caused her to become distracted.

The Malfoy boy had been withdrawn and moody, and Severus had been even worse. He'd still been listening to her prattle, but he'd been distant from her, not really engaging in conversation that went beyond her day to day chatter.

What Rosie really needed, was somebody to confide in, which was why Sirius' support and friendship had been so critical over the past few months. He was always there for her, no matter the time, and he would listen for hours if she kept talking. The man always hung off her every word.

Of course, their frequent, nighttime mirror calls did nothing to aid in their little predicament, but Rose was quite alright with that, and not once had Siri asked her to quit calling so often. They still fought, as usual. She didn't think that would ever go away, but they always made up, usually without much time even to stew about it.

When Lavender came back to the dorm around eight forty- five, Rosie stretched and rolled out of bed. She sniffed with angst and twisted at her hair.

"Lav, you should really be already asleep by the time Mione gets back here tonight. I've got a meeting, so I can't be here to do any damage control."

Lavender grimaced. "Yeah, I'll fake it. Listen, I know it's stupid, and selfish but I just really like Ron. He just…"

Rosie shook her head. "I don't really wanna hear about it, Lav. I'm sorry. I get it. I can't agree with what you guys did, and I'm one hundred percent on Hermione's side here, but I do get it. You don't have to explain."

"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" The other girl eyed Mione's bed.

She frowned, thinking briefly about Meadow, and then shifting her mind to the look on Pansy's face when the Slytherin girl had confronted her in the hall. "No, probably not. Like I said, just lay low."

Lavender bit her lip and nodded, before sitting down on her bed and pulling out a copy of the sixth year Divination text.

That was Rose's cue to leave, and since she was already going to be late to meet the headmaster, she walked at a leisurely pace.

Dumbledore didn't make note of her tardiness, and only smiled widely when she pushed open the heavy door into his office.

"Ah, Rose. You received my note."

"You left it on my bed." She replied lamely.

The older man chuckled and nodded. "That I did. Did I catch you at a bad time my dear girl?"

"What even is a good time anymore?" Rosie mumbled, taking a seat across from him and fidgeting with her locket.

Dumbledore frowned. "I had hoped you were merely being dramatic when Sirius mentioned your recent death wish."

She scoffed. "What does it matter either way. I'm still going to kill the dark lord like you want."

He raised an eyebrow. "You've been spending a lot of time talking to Sirius I see."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose shot back.

"My dear, if you would lower your defenses for one moment, you'd see that I'm only comparing your dark attitude with that of Mr. Black's. I suppose my attempt at humor has fallen flat tonight, as you're clearly unhappy with me."

Rosie let out a great sigh and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm not mad at you headmaster. I'm just stressed, and to be honest, I don't really care about Tom Riddle's childhood. I had a shitty childhood and I don't kill people for fun."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I suppose I won't bore you with the stories then, and merely inquire about your progress befriending Horace."

Feeling bad for snapping at the headmaster, Rose shot him a small smile. "I like Professor Slughorn a lot. He's really sweet to me."

"Excellent." The old wizard winked at her. "Now, I have another task for you, and it involves our new potions master."

Now Rosie was listening. She felt as though she may finally be about to learn the reason behind the staffing shift at Hogwarts.

"I need you to obtain a memory from him."

She furrowed her brows. "Er, you do know that Severus only taught me like one minute of legilimency when I was twelve, right?"

"No, no child, I mean I need you to convince him to give you a copy of one of his memories that he is reluctant to offer up."

"Oh? How do I ask someone for a memory? Is there an etiquette for that?"

He smiled at her again. "I'm suggesting that you may need to be rather a bit Slytherin about it. It is absolutely imperative for us moving forward that you collect this memory."

"Slytherin? Sir, are you suggesting I sleep with professor Slughorn in exchange for the memory? Because while I do like older men…nevermind" She trailed off, her joke falling flat as Dumbledore only stared at her.

"How will I know it's the right memory?"

"You'll just need to ask for the memory that I inquired about several years ago. He'll know which one I mean. Then, you and I can watch it together."

Rosie nodded, her stomach churning awkwardly. "Kay. Is that all?"

"You may return to bed if you wish my dear girl, unless there's anything you need to talk about." He offered her; his tone benign.

"Not unless you're prepared to tell me what Draco's task for Voldemort is."

Dumbledore exhaled. "I made a very specific oath to _occlude_ that information from you Rose, but if you're very curious, I'm sure you could get the information out of young Mr. Malfoy yourself. Severus tells me he's continued confiding in you."

So, Severus had asked the headmaster not to tell her either.

"Fine. Have a goodnight headmaster." She stood, turning away from him.

He was silent in reply, and guilt crept its way into her heart. Rosie took one more step forward before pivoting around on her heel, and striding over to where the old wizard was seated.

She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry sir. I hope you sleep well."

The headmaster's good hand came up to rest on her back. "Goodnight sweet Rose."

Rosie pulled back, kissed him on the cheek, and then stood up straight again, making her way out of the office, and through the other end of the stone gargoyle.

Ginny was waiting up for her in the common room when Rosie arrived, a stressed-out grimace adorning her face.

She sat down next to the redhead, and leaned her head on the other girl's shoulder.

"So? What's the consensus?"

"They've broken up. Ron's super messed up about it. Hermione's pissed at him, and you. You probably should've said something to her."

"Yeah I know." Rosie sighed.

The girls sat in silence for a few more minutes before Ginny shifted her weight and cleared her throat.

"So, me and Neville ah…" She blushed.

Her eyes widened. "You did?! Was it… good?"

"Yeah, Rose… I don't know if it was Dean, or something else, but with Neville it was so different. It felt really good, and I wasn't just like, waiting for him to finish. Do you know what I mean?"

Rosie bit her lip, feeling uneasy. "Gin, did you not enjoy sex with Dean?"

The redhead just shrugged. "It didn't hurt after a while."

That made her feel worse. "Severus told me once that if you just lay there and don't say anything, that doesn't really count as consent."

"What would Snape know anyways?" Ginny laughed weakly.

"Sirius said it too, and he's been with loads of women."

"It wasn't like that Rose. It wasn't like what happened to you. I still let him. It doesn't matter now anyways."

She could tell that Ginny was getting uncomfortable, so she decided to lighten the mood. "Either way Gin, you deserve to enjoy sex. Which apparently you really did this time."

The girl giggled. "Rosie, he did this thing with his tongue…" The other girl explained in detail.

"I told you it was nice!"

"Ew. Rose, don't think about my brother right now." She whined.

The two Gryfindors stayed up late into the night talking, gossiping mostly, and then Rosie lay awake for the rest of the night trying to think of how she could make it up to Hermione.

In the morning, she was exhausted, but determined.

Several weeks had passed since Rose's fight with Hermione, and her friend's subsequent breakup with Ron, and she'd been spending most days studying with the bushy-haired Gryffindor. Mione hadn't spoken to her the first day, but by the second they were sharing information again. It seemed like her friend had taken most of her pent-up anger out of Rose that night, which had fizzled out quickly, and turned into frustration with Ron.

Her friend's resolve had also been softened by Rose's offer to share Severus' old potion's text with her, and fairly soon, the two girls were unbeatable in her least favorite subject. This only served to further impress Slughorn. She'd been ignoring Ron in favor of Hermione most of the time, but he was still at quidditch practices, and as a gesture of good will, she'd pretended to dose him with her prized felix felices potion before the first match.

He'd performed admirably, and they'd won, so they were still in good faith. Ron understood why she kept her distance, and he didn't seem to be cross with her for it. Besides, he was usually to busy sucking face with Lavender to notice she or his much-better-kinder-and smarter ex-girlfriend skulking in the shadows.

Dumbledore hadn't called Rosie up for another meeting since there last, and she was still trying to think of a way to ask her professor for his memory without coming across as really weird. She'd decided to ask him after the Christmas party.

Apparently, this Christmas party was a very big deal at Hogwarts. Of course, it wouldn't be anything like the Yule Ball was, but still, Rose was expected to dress up and bring a date, which frustrated her endlessly. At this point, she had zero ideas. Ginny was going to be bringing Neville, of course. However, she and Hermione hadn't found anyone tolerable enough to attend with. They'd made a pact that if neither had a date by the following Monday, then they'd go together.

Severus approved of that idea.

Rose; however, was extremely upset with Severus. He was pulling away from her, keeping Draco away from her, and leaving her to fend for herself. Sometimes it felt like he was deliberately avoiding her. He'd taken to vacating his office and quarters to lurk around the dungeons in unused classrooms.

This was especially hurtful because he knew how much Moony's absence had been affecting her, yet he still continued to distance himself. She was desperate now to figure out what it was that he was hiding, but it seemed like every time she'd tried to track down Malfoy on the map, he was either with the other Slytherins or with Severus.

Rosie was beginning to feel very isolated, and she'd often turn to Sirius for comfort. He'd become her number one confidant that term. He always listened, even when she spoke of missing Severus, and sometimes, he even tried to give her suggestions to try and lure the potions master out of the dungeon.

The last time they'd talked, he reported that Kingsley'd sent him a letter from Moony, saying that he'd try to make it back by the twentieth of December, and that he'd arrive no later than the twenty-second.

Rose hadn't received a letter, not for weeks.

She was so lonely.

Siri could tell that she wasn't doing well.

"Rosie, hon. You're even lower than me today. What's on your mind?"

Rose shrugged, though she doubted he could see it in the mirror. "It's the same stuff Sirius. I'm just not handling things well right now."

"I just hate to see you so depressed kid. Man, I can wait for Christmas. It'll be nice to have you here, and to have Remus back, even if Snape'll be here."

"I don't know if he'll even come." She sighed dejectedly.

"Don't be ridiculous. You know damn well that he'll come. The git's obsessed with you."

Rosie glared. "Whatever Siri."

"Hey, lighten up. I found a muggle nursery like you told me to."

"A baby nursery or a tree nursery?" She teased.

"You know what I'm talking about." He growled back. "The muggle who owns it said we don't have to bring that axe thing this year. He's already got them levitated out of the ground, so we'll just need to carry it back."

"I can't wait." Rosie smiled, and she really meant it.


	124. Chapter 124

**AN- Bear with me, I'm trying to get back in the groove. I feel like I've kinda lost touch with the characters, so I'm sorry if they seem a bit more ooc** **than usual**.

December twentieth was the first day of Christmas break that year, but it was also the date of Slughorn's Christmas party, so, Rosie had gotten Sirius to agree to apparate her back to the school and then pick her up later in the night. She'd confided in him about her plight to extract the professor's memory, and he'd offered to do anything possible to help her achieve this, and of course, he'd help her get ready for the party.

He was always the best at that.

Sirius had picked Rose up from the train station and she'd spent most of the afternoon with him at Grimmauld catching up like they hadn't been talking every night for months. Kingsley had sent word that Remus might be coming back that night and Rosie was considering ditching the party. Her godfather's homecoming was something she wouldn't miss for the world, but at around four, Kingsley had floo'd to say that it wouldn't be tonight.

"Hold still Rosie." Sirius chuckled, pulling at a loose strand of her hair, trying to spell it into order within the neat up-do he'd created.

"Aren't you done yet?" She complained, causing him to shake his head.

"You're the one who asked me to do your hair love. You've got to be patient with the process."

"What if Moony does come home tonight Siri? I don't want to miss it." She fretted, looking back at him.

"He won't hon. Kingsley knows you're going to the Christmas party. He wouldn't lie."

"I just worry. I miss him so much. I don't want to lose any time with him." Rosie couldn't help but be disturbed by how fast this year had been going. The school year was half over already and that meant that she could be half a year closer to… well, she didn't really like to think about it.

"Kay, I think you're done Prongslet." Sirius tapped her shoulder and she nodded, getting up and moving toward the stairs to get changed.

The dress was probably the sexiest outfit she'd ever worn. Severus would hate it. It was strapless, and a deep burgundy color, tight around her frame, and it accentuated her breasts with a modest sweetheart neckline. Sirius had taken she, Hermione, and Ginny dress shopping the last Hogsmeade weekend. Well, in truth he'd been too uncomfortable to go in the shop, so he'd dropped them at the dress maker's and gone to fetch lunch while they tried on outfits.

Kreacher was lurking in the corner of her room while she changed, and when she pulled the dress on and turned around he shot her a slick, wrinkly little smile.

"Kreacher's mistress will surely attain a mate tonight."

"Thanks Kreach, but I highly doubt that."

"Just as well mistress. Kreacher has already made it known what he is wishing."

"Yeah well, start whispering in your master's ear then."

"Whispering what?" Sirius coughed from the door frame.

Rosie turned around, her cheeks hot. "Nothing Siri," she shooed the elf away, but Sirius didn't seem to be paying any attention to Kreacher. His eyes were focused on her and he was frowning.

"What? Is it that bad?"

"Bad? No, no Rosie. It's beautiful. You're beautiful." He assured, coming closer. "Actually, you look a hell of a lot like your mother tonight, except for this unruly Potter hair." He teased, tucking a strand of hair back into the hairdo.

Rosie took a moment and scrunched up her nose and eyes, concentrating on something that she'd learned to do in transfiguration last year, that she'd been practicing for a while. It took a moment, and Sirius was just beginning to inquire after what she was doing when she could feel the change. She knew it had worked when Sirius let out a breathe.

"Holy shit." He sighed, taking a step back to look at her, dark red hair now framing her face. Sirius broke into a wide grin. "That's creepy as hell hon. You've got to do that for Snape. He'll go mental."

"Ew, that's sick! He was attracted to my mother!"

Sirius grimaced. "Yeah, maybe do it when your not wearing this dress, never know what that git will do."

"Oh Fuck off Sirius, he's my guardian." She hissed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm just teasing! That's my point. He wouldn't be attracted to you, he'd just be disturbed, and it'd be a laugh." He raised his arms defensively as she changed her hair back to black. "You look stunning, always, but especially tonight."

"Thank you Siri."

They moved down to the kitchen and then out the front door making sure to stay within the bounds of the Fidelius, only stepping out at the last moment.

"Ready miss Potter?" He held out his arm and she nodded, taking it and squeezing her eyes shut in preparation for the apparition.

Hermione, Ginny, and Neville were already waiting for her when they landed outside the gates and her mind flashed back briefly to the summer party at Neville's house, which had changed her life. She remembered Cedric and how handsome he'd been, and she also remembered her betrayal of him that night, the one that he'd never found out about.

"Earth to Rosie." Sirius called, waving a hand in front of her face. "Do you think you'll need until midnight, to speak to Ol' Sluggy?"

"Yeah,sorry. I'll try to meet him after the party, or when it's winding down. Hopefully he'll've had a few drinks…"

"What are you talking about?" Mione piped up from their right.

Rose shook her head. "Just some stupid mission for Dumbledore."

Sirius made to leave, and then turned around. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He smirked, and then added, "Also, try not to drink too much. You get really weepy."

"Whatever Siri, you'll just have to deal with it." She stuck her tongue out and then turned to her friends. Neville was staring at her oddly, and Ginny just rolled her eyes, linking her arm in Rosie's.

"Girl, you spend way to much time alone with him. Your guardian needs to get his arse home."

They continued to chat on and off, and by the time the four friends entered the party it was in full swing.

Ginny and Neville broke off from she and Hermione, and Rosie frowned, noticing that Hermione seemed a bit out of it. Rose slipped a hand down and clasped it in her friend's.

"It'll be alright Mione."

"I know. We've just been together so long. I'm not quite sure how to do things without him."

"You've got a lot to relearn. I get it. Let's start with a drink." She offered, leading them over to the table that Slughorn had told them would not contain any alcoholic beverages, but that Blaise Zabini had definitely spiked by now.

The girls stuck together and made their way over to one of the tables, which was nicely decorated, and sat down. They talked, greeted people, and laughed, and by the time Severus pulled away from his conversation with the other potion's master to come hover around her, they'd both downed two glasses of punch and were working on a third.

"I believe that you misplaced your cloak, Miss Potter." Severus drawled, coming up from behind. In his hand, he had a shimmering burgundy half-cloak, sort of like a shawl, which he held out to her."

"Hmm, I don't think that's mine sir." She grinned, eying the pretty piece of fabric.

"It is most definitely yours Rose." He replied, using her first name quietly under his breath.

Deciding not to argue, she took the shawl and draped it around herself.

Severus' lips pursed in approval, and he nodded, looking around the room once before heading off in the other direction.

"He's so weird." Hermione snorted, watching the professor leave.

"Yeah well, weird's all I've got." She shrugged, though she did agree with her friend. At least he still cared. She wrapped the shawl around herself tighter, wishing that her guardian would've stayed awhile.

Rosie was so excited for christmas, especially considering the fact that this could very well be her last holiday with all her family present, ever. For all she knew, next christmas she might be celebrating with her parents.

Professor Slughorn spotted she and Hermione just after Severus left them, and he began a rousing conversation about the properties of Valeriana. He was always very curious about her intolerance, as apparently it was rare.

The conversation had started to die, Hermione had gone to the loo, and Rosie was just about to finish her fourth drink when the commotion began.

Argus Filch, the awful caretaker came shuffling into the party manhandling none other than a disgruntled Draco Malfoy.

"Get off me! I'll have you fired!" Draco was growling and struggling to get out of the man's grasp. "I wasn't gatecrashing!"

Rosie made eye contact with Severus across the room and she saw his face harden as he shook his head, motioning for her not to do anything. The potion's professor began to move closer to Draco but Rose, who was no longer frightened of Severus' wrath, moved forward faster and grabbed onto Draco's arm.

"He's here with me." She informed the caretaker with a smile.

Malfoy appeared to be trying to keep from pulling his hand away, but she knew he hated relinquishing control.

Severus appeared angry, but, not as angry as Mr. Filch who didn't like her in the first place.

"As you can see, the boy clearly has a motive for attending." The potion's master drawled, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Miss. Potter arrived with Miss. Granger." The caretaker wheezed, eying them with suspicion.

It was then that Professor Slughorn decided to get involved, addressing the old squib from across the room. Everyone in attendance was now paying close attention to the exchange.

"My dear Argus. If Miss. Potter says she's invited Mr. Malfoy, then he is welcome to stay. Please, do enjoy some refreshments on your way out good sir." He presided.

Hermione rolled her eyes from where they'd been sitting and got up to join Ginny and Neville, while Rosie turned away from Severus and pulled Draco out of the spotlight and into a more secluded area.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, pushing him back against the wall in the corridor.

"I'm leaving Potter. Just fuck off." He growled, shoving her away.

Rosie grunted in pain, and then continued to follow him into the corridor as he left.

"Draco, you're obviously upset. Why don't you talk to me, or to Professor Snape, or anybody?"

"What the hell does Snape have to do with this?" He shot back and Rosie sighed. She couldn't tell him that Severus was planning to do whatever task that he'd been assigned.

"Nothing. Never mind Malfoy."

"No. What the fuck do you know?" His tone slipped into a threatening whisper as he advanced on her.

"I don't know anything, really. I've been asking around, but nobody's giving me anything."

"You're curious. You want to know what I've been ordered to do?" He moved closer and Rose could now feel is breath hot on her face. He was trying to scare her, but Malfoy wasn't even on the list of frightening people.

"Yeah, I do." She nodded. "You seem stressed. Why don't you help me out, and I'll do the same for you?" She raised an eyebrow, relaxing her posture and slipping a hand down to fiddle with his belt.

Draco groaned and leaned his head back against the stone wall behind him when her hand found it's way into his pants, but his enjoyment only last a second before he let out a humorless laugh, opened his eyes and grasped onto her arm.

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that Potter." He shook his head, and Rosie used the opportunity to do what she'd been practicing and planning to do to Slughorn, to Draco.

"Fuck you." She spat, feigning agitation as she pushed her magic outward like she'd read, thinking of her one, brief lesson on legilimancy with Severus all those years ago.

Malfoy was so distracted by what she had been doing that it was less effort than she'd anticipated, moving into his mind. Rosie moved her hand back to the right spot and leaned forward to lock his lips with hers, maintaining eye contact, and he fell for it, allowing her to invade his mouth with her tongue. She tried to think about Voldemort, which was a big task in her current position, and pretty soon she had dug the issue up in his memories.

Although, it wasn't Voldemort that appeared at the forefront, it was Severus.

 _"Mister Malfoy, I don't think your level of concentration is adequate in this situation. If you are going to murder the headmaster, you are going to need to pay attention to me."_

 _"I don't need your help." He spat, turning away._

Memory Severus advanced on Draco, and then he was gone, and Rosie was thrust back into the real world. She'd only been able to keep it up for long enough to get a snippet of the Slytherin's thoughts, but as it turned out, a snippet was all she needed.

It was all that Rosie could do not to gasp, the shock clouding her thoughts and freezing her blood. She swallowed the urge as Draco's tongue jammed itself down her throat, his hands roving across her body. In the distance, she could hear the party goers' laughter, and the soft clinking of glasses. Malfoy, who must've seen the same image in his head that she had just dug up, was kneading her flesh harder, paying no mind to her distracted responses.

Suddenly, shagging Draco Malfoy seemed like the most brilliant idea that she'd ever had.

Fuck Severus for hiding this from her. Fuck the damn headmaster for causing this, and fuck the war for making it necessary in the first place.

Rosie moaned, allowing the boy to direct her hurriedly down the corridor, towards one of the lavatories. A few feet from the door, he slammed her body back against the wall, pinning her wrists above her head and letting out a growl.

"God. If I took you to him right now, I'd be a hero Potter." He whispered in her ear, his grip tightening.

Rose laughed. "Do it then." She dared him, slipping a hand back into the waist of his trousers.

"Do you have any idea how tempted I am?"

"Merlin, Draco you really know how to turn a girl on." Rosie joked. "If it were that easy to get me out of the castle do you think I'd be here attending NEWT potions for fun? You can thank your daddy for that. I couldn't even leave if I tried."

Malfoy hissed as she played with him. He was about to shove her again, through the door of the loo, his hands gripping her hard at the shoulders when they realized that they were no longer alone.

Severus cleared his throat from their right, and Rosie jolted with surprise, yanking her hand out of Draco's pants and pulling it into her chest like a wounded animal. She could feel the heat gathering in her face.

The look on the potion's master's face was one of disgust and disdain as he turned his attentions to them and her heart dropped into her stomach.

For reasons that Rose did not quite understand, Draco took one look at Severus, sneered, and elbowed Rosie away from him, stalking down the corridor without turning back. This left Rose alone with her guardian.

Standing there in silence, the memory that she'd stolen from Malfoy's head played and replayed over in her mind. Draco was supposed to kill the headmaster, which meant that Severus was going to kill the headmaster.

Severus was going to kill Dumbledore, and he didn't want to. Dumbledore asked Severus to kill him, even though doing so would hurt her guardian, even though following through would put a rift between she and Severus, and Dumbledore hadn't thought to warn her. Neither of them had.

Severus was going to sacrifice their relationship to do this, and he didn't even care.

"Rose." Severus sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Take me home Severus. I'm done here." She crossed her arms, turning away from him.

"You cannot continue to do this with Mr. Malfoy. It's not safe."

"Fuck you, Severus." All her anger bubbled to the surface as she spat the words in his face.

He stilled and then reached forward and grabbed her wrist in his hand, pulling her closer to him with a force that she hadn't felt in a long time. "Rose Lily Potter, do not ever speak to me that way again."

"Or what? What will you do? Most days you don't even care if I speak to you or not so I don't think you have any business telling me who to continue with."

"Have you stopped to think for one moment about what would happen if the dark lord looked into Draco's mind? I have no idea how it came to be, but I do know that some part of you cares for Draco and wouldn't want to see anything happen to him, and that boy is not an occlumens." He hissed.

"I know that." She said back, though in truth she hadn't thought of that before and he was a terrible occlumens as Rosie had just proven a few moments before.

"Then act like it. What has gotten into you Rose?"

"Nothing Severus. I'm the same as I always am, but you're never around anymore so maybe you've forgotten who that is.

He shut his eyes. "Child—you know that I need to keep my distance and you know why. It's for your own protection."

"Sometimes I don't need protection Severus; sometimes I just need a dad and I feel like I don't have one anymore." She looked away, the words catching in her throat.

He'd relaxed his grip on her wrist now, sliding his thumb across the delicate skin there as he studied her face. "Rose, I know that it must be difficult to lose both time with myself and with Lupin in the same year, but you have to see that what we are doing is for you. That is a father's role, a parents' role."

"Yeah well, I've already lost two parents to this war. I just wasn't prepared for the other two to walk out of my life right when I needed them the most."

Severus didn't seem to know what to say. He continued to stare at her as if he were memorizing every detail of her face.

"Just take me home. At least Sirius still likes having me around."

"Rose—"

"I don't care, Severus." She cut him off, lying through her teeth.

They walked in silence to the apparition point and she gripped his arm before he had the chance to hold it out to her. When they landed on the steps of Grimmauld beyond the Fidelius, Severus paused and then reached forward, taking her chin in between his fingers.

"You are everything to me Rose. You are the only reason that I am still in this fight."

Draco's memory appeared in her mind as she spoke, the remnants of her anger floating at the forefront of her thoughts. She didn't react to his words, the hurt still too fresh. Instead, she went inside, leaving him alone on the step.


End file.
